AquaBounty records 26% drop in revenue
US land-based salmon farmer AquaBounty Technologies saw second quarter revenue fall by more than a quarter year on year, despite increasing its output.
The company has reported revenue of $788,000 (£616,000) for Q2 2023, compared with $1.1m (£860,000) for the same period last year. Net loss in the second quarter of 2023 was $6.5m (£4.7m) million, as compared to $5.5m (£4.3m) in the second quarter of 2022.
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash have also fallen, with $43.8m (£34.2m) recorded as of June 30, 2023, compared to $102.6m (£80.2m) as of December 31, 2022.
AquaBounty aims to be the first business to produce genetically-modified (GM) salmon at scale. Its AquAdvantage salmon combine Atlantic salmon with elements of other salmon species.
The company has blamed falling salmon prices for the fall in revenue, but its losses are also down to delays in the construction of its planned major site in Ohio.
Sylvia Wulf, Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer of AquaBounty, said: “Our second quarter results were impacted by a significant decline in market prices for Atlantic salmon, despite the fact that our Indiana farm had its highest quarterly output to date.
“The demand for our fish continues to exceed our supply and we continue to identify opportunities to increase our production to meet this demand.”
She added: “We announced in early June that the company was pausing the construction of our farm in Pioneer, Ohio due to a substantial increase in its estimated cost of completion. The company is currently evaluating both the cost estimate and our options for moving forward, including alternative financing solutions to bring the project to completion. We previously announced our entry into a contractual commitment with a new construction firm who is assisting us in evaluating construction costs and who would lead construction of the facility going forward.”
Wulf also said that progress continues on the expansion of AquaBounty’s broodstock and egg production facility on Prince Edward Island; and that the company continues “to explore new business development opportunities which leverage our core strengths, and which could be applied to new species, including conventional salmon and other finfish, and new geographical territories worldwide”.
Sylvia Wulf, CEO, AquaBounty Technologies
