The announcement, published in Market Screener, says that the insurance settlement from the 15 September 2021 fire at its facility in Denmark came out to $25.5 million (DKK 180 million).
The facility’s book value at the time of the fire was approximately $33 million and the insurance process has identified approximately $4.25 million (DKK 30 million) of buildings and equipment were undamaged by the fire. The company also has permits, a long-term land lease and a tax loss carry-forward.
The announcement said that the company is free to decide how the insurance proceeds are used and that its board has opted to put the settlement proceeds to its US operations and construction. Atlantic Sapphire’s new land-based facility in Florida will likely benefit. The board will continue to review the company’s strategy for its operations in Denmark.
Atlantic Sapphire said its core business is expanding production in the US where the company sees the highest return on investment. It added that it has now ensured stable operations in the US and is in the middle of a significant expansion of the production capacity.
“The current situation in the world further emphasises the importance of short and lean value chains,” the company said.
“In the US, the Company is perfectly positioned to leverage this. The US is currently importing approximately 98 percent of its consumption of Atlantic salmon and the company believes there will be an increasing focus and preference for domestically produced food in the years ahead.”
