In its first production cycle, the company achieved a survival rate of 97.5 percent, feed conversion ratio of 1.05, superior share of 91.1 percent, and required 1 kWh to produce each kilo of salmon © Andfjord Salmon
The funding was raised through a private placement of new shares, which was significantly oversubscribed, according to the company.
Martin Rasmussen, CEO of Andfjord Salmon Group AS, commented: “Our Kvalnes build-out is on track and on budget, and the ‘post-smolt’ opportunity we announced on 29 February this year has generated significant interest from industrial investors. We have decided to utilise this positive momentum to our advantage and raise funds that provide us with added financial flexibility. We are delighted that strong, international industrial investors have pre-committed for substantial amounts”.
Andfjord, which is based on the island of Andøya on the Norway's Vesterålen archipelago, will use the proceeds to build four new pools, which will increase the company's annual production capacity to 8,000 tonnes from 2025.
In the longer term, the company aims to reach a production capacity of 40,000 tonnes at Kvalnes through gradual volume increases between 2025 and 2030 and eventually reach 90,000 tonnes between three separate sites - Kvalnes, Breivika and Fiskenes.
The investors who subscribed to the new shares include:
- High Liner Foods, a leading supplier and distributor of seafood in the United States and Canada, which subscribed for shares worth $10 million (approximately NOK 107 million).
- Andfjord Salmon's largest owner, the Portuguese food group Jerónimo Martins subscribed for shares worth approximately NOK 87 million.
- Jan Heggelund, both privately and via the company Ristora AS, subscribed for shares worth a total of NOK 30 million.
- Fish farmer Eidsfjord Sjøfarm/Holmøy Havbruk, subscribed for NOK 15.9 million.
