Andfjord Salmon Group AS (50R.F) Q3 FY2025 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, and welcome to this quarter update from Andfjord Salmon. My name is Martin Rasmussen and I am the CEO of the company. Together with me here today is our CFO, Bjarne Martinsen. And we will end this presentation with a Q&A, and you can submit questions through our webcast solution. Before we start the presentation, I just want to repeat our ambition. And our ambition is to build the world's most fish and environmentally friendly salmon farming facility of its kind. And the results from our first and ongoing production cycle confirm that this is possible. We have a large square pool designed to recreate the salmon's natural habitat. The Gulfstream brought on that. And this gives the salmon plenty of space to have a natural behavior. So with our closed system, we protect the fish from external factors such as salmon lice, jellyfish and algae, while at the same time, protecting the environment from having such a large concentrated biomass in 1 place. This has worked very good so far, and we will return to this later in today's presentation. So what are the highlights from the third quarter and the following months? And after 2 years of construction work, we were very happy to finally returned to fish farming operation in the third quarter. We have completed 2 highly successful smolt release, which I will share more details about later in the presentation. Following smolt release, we have achieved very high survival rates and the biological conditions in the pool are very good, which is reflected in the strong growth we are experiencing with the growth ahead of schedule. Financially, we do have strong support from larger existing shareholder with approximately NOK 300 million equity funding, together with enhanced bank debt of NOK 200 million to support current build-out phase gradually nearing full completion. And finally, we will, of course, also address the contractor situation at Kvalnes later in the presentation. So let's dive into the details about our farming operation. On 30 September, we released around 350,000 smolt into K0 with an average weight of 180 gram. The smolt release was a success. And this time, we purchased smolt from SalMar from 2 of their facilities. One in Dafjord not far from Troms and other on Senja just across the fjord from our facility. And we're very satisfied with the quality of the smolt. The result demonstrates excellent collaboration with the smolt supplier, a highly efficient logistics system and skilled employees and suppliers who have made the right preparations and decision along the way. And preparation and practice were the key success factor in the smolt release. At K1, we received 2 wellboat loads, this time with the slightly smaller smolt at 160 grams average. The smolt release was also very successful with very few mortalities from the 750,000 smolts we did release. So all in all, a very good start to our next chapter of fish farming operation. Before we dive into further details, let's view a film with our COO, Christian Halmoy Torgersen, who shares his view on the smolt release. [Presentation]

Let's look closer at the mortality figures or the survival rate as we prefer to call it. The blue line at the top of the graph shows the survival rate in generation K0 in 2025. As of December 14, this stood at 99.85%. And this is a very high survival rates and something that we are very proud of. The reddish line in the graph shows survival rate for pool K1. And we see slightly lower survival rates on K1, and we consider this as a combination of coincidence and the release of smolt at the slightly later time. However, the difference is marginal, as you can see from the graph. To put the current survival rates into context, we have also included the survival rates from K0 in 2022. And please see the white line. As you may remember, the 2022, 2023 production cycle was very successful with high survival rates, but this year, smolt release and subsequent weeks and months of production have demonstrated even better survival rates than we achieved in 2022. We have also added an orange dotted line, which shows the trend line towards 95% survival rates for a 15-month production cycle. And you can see that we are currently outperforming this trend line too. And please bear in mind, a survival head of 95% is actually very, very good. To compare the average survival rate per production cycle for ocean-based salmon farming was 84.6% in 2024. So this is a very good start for this production cycle. So let's look at how the fish has grown since they were released into the pools. When we released the smolt into our pools, we were positively surprised over how quickly they settled in the new seawater flow-through surroundings. Often, it takes many days for the fish to settle in a new environment and start eating properly. In our pool in K0, the smolt had good appetite already from the first day in the pool. And this reflects in the strong growth numbers. The top blue line in the graph shows growth per week in smolt release in pool K0. The dotted blue line shows Skretting’s growth table. And that's a 10 weeks in the pool K0, the growth of our fish outperformed Skretting’s growth table by approx 27%. And in combination with the growth effect on 7% due to higher sea temperatures, compared to the initial forecast. Last week was exceptional with 57% production above the table, and this is a very strong result so far. The growth in K1 is now also starting to significantly improve. And the K1 smolt was slightly smaller and release 6 weeks later than K0 in lower temperatures. Today, the growth is accumulated on Skretting's growth table. But since the appetite has increased over the past 2 weeks, we achieved a growth of 41% above the table last week. So we are very satisfied with this development. Overall, this is a highly encouraging start. And for a trained fish farmer, it is easy to see that this is a very strong operational numbers. As an effect of high survival rates and good appetite, our standing biomass is growing rapidly. As of Sunday, 2 days ago, our standing biomass stood at 418 tonnes live fish. For our pool K0, our feed conversion rate, meaning how many kilos of feed are required to grow 1 kilo fish stood at 0.88. This strong feed conversion rate has definitely been positive impacting by the new underwater feeding solution. The fish in K1 has already spent 5 weeks in the pool, but the feed conversion ratio is accumulated so far, 0.92. So over to the status of the Kvalnes build-out. This is an illustration of how our Kvalnes facility will look in the future. And currently, our main focus is the 4 pools marked as Phase 1, in addition to pool K0, which is located south of this photo. As mentioned earlier, K1 is in operation. K3 has completed the concrete work and only the final technical installation remains before it's fully ready for operation. In K2, the wall elements has been installed, and there's an ongoing construction on the mid-section. On K4, it's the plan to start the installation of the pre-produced wall elements in combination with the mid sections. And the plan is to finalize K2 and K4 by the spring/summer of 2026, which is sufficient to main Andfjord Salmon's production plan. And there is ample space both in K0 and K1. So we don't require any new pools for splitting of biomass and new smolt release until the spring/summer of 2026. So we have enough time to finalize these pools. And it is important to understand and bear in mind this backdrop, we now will address the contractual topic on our Kvalnes sites. So as announced on December 3, Andfjord Salmon submitted a claim excess of NOK 1 billion to our previous contractor, AF Hæhre & Contur. And the claim relates to unjustified upwards revision of cost for completed work at the Kvalnes site. In addition to previously announced change to budget, Andfjord has revised an additional cost revision during Q3 amounting to NOK 400 million. And this will be added to the previously communicated claim. And it's important to highlight that the claim is only related to the contractor's inability to deliver according to -- accordance with the contract. The quality of the Kvalnes site, it's health, it's sound, which is illustrated by the strong biological performance, the fish were -- that were stocked in the facility during this fall. Although the dispute is not concluded, the prior contractor has drawn on an employer guarantee, which reduced our liquidity buffer. But what we now have resolved by raising new capital, which will I come back to. We will provide updates relating to the claim in due time. To complete construction of pools K2 and K4, Andfjord has engaged new contractors. And the work will continue early next year and such that we can foresee no material impact to our production plan and the change of contractors will require a NOK 20 million in mobilization costs. With the finalization of pools K1 and K3, we have a current production capacity of 6,000 tonnes. The following 2 pools are close to complete with only certain concrete works and technical connections outstanding. With our new contractors, we expect to complete this pool during the first half of 2026, bringing production capacity to 11,000 tonnes. We will then proceed with finalization of Phase 2a, which consists of pool K5, 6, 7 and 8. Once complete, we will have a total production capacity of 17,000 tonnes. The total investment budget for the 17,000 tonnes, which consists of the pilot Phase 1 and Phase 2a is approximately NOK 3.6 billion. These figures does not include the latest cost revision of NOK 400 million, which I will get back to on the next page. Of this NOK 3.65 billion, we have spent about NOK 3.2 billion at the end of Q3, leaving approximately NOK 450 million to reach a 17,000 tons production capacity. As a precautionary measure in relation to the revised cost of NOK 400 million and ongoing claim with their previous contractor, we have secured additional financing to ensure that the ongoing construction of the Kvalnes site can be completed according to schedule. We continue to receive strong support from our largest shareholders and have secured approximately NOK 300 million in our equity private placement, which was settled in the closing share price of the 15th of December at NOK 26.7 per share. In addition, we have received term sheet to expand our current bank facility with NOK 200 million, such as the total frame increase to NOK 1.3 billion. The increase bank frame is significantly progress and is expected to be closed shortly. In total, our financing has increased by NOK 500 million which covered the dispute NOK 400 million increased costs from our previously contractor to ensure flexibility and momentum while the dispute is not settled yet, as well as the NOK 20 million mobilization cost of a new contractor. This leaves us with approximately NOK 80 million additional buffer which will support our scaling towards 17,000 tonnes of production. I will now leave the word to Bjarne for covering the financials.

Thank you, Martin. I will, as usual, give a brief overview of the financial reporting in the presentation and more details are available in the interim financial report that was published earlier today. The smolt release in K0 was carried out on the last day of September and accounting of the biomass is now visible in the financial reporting. There is, of course, no profit or loss related to this third quarter. Apart from that, the income statement for third quarter is in line with previous quarters and provides a representative view of the business for the period without operational activity. Financial cost is mainly related to the bond loan. The figure includes both paid interest cost and calculated cost in accordance with IFRS 9. And financial costs related to the construction loan is capitalized as part of property, plant and equipment. The group had significant cash balance during the quarter, which results in financial income of close to NOK 6 million for the period. The balance sheet still reflects high investment activity. Be aware that accounted investments in third quarter includes invoices where payments have been held back, which also affects trade payables at the end of the period. This is, of course, related to the situation with the main contractor at Kvalnes. The balance sheet now also includes biomass valued at NOK 11.6 million at the end of third quarter and also other inventories related to the operations. The cash balance includes restricted cash related to financing and details of this is provided in the interim financial report. If we look at equity and debt, there are no major changes since previous reporting. NOK 40 million has been drawn on the bank loans in third quarter. And as explained on the previous slide, both investments and trade payables is higher than normal due to withheld payments to the main contractor. In addition, the group had undrawn construction loan of NOK 400 million and an unused credit facility of NOK 20 million at the end of third quarter. After the reporting period, available construction loan has increased to NOK 600 million, and the undrawn credit facility is increased to NOK 120 million. Cash flows during the reporting period still reflects that the company has been through the most intense phase of the construction project. In the coming periods, investments will be reduced as much of the infrastructure is now complete. In third quarter, the remaining NOK 40 million on the construction loan for Phase 1 were drawn, which explains the cash flow from financing. So with that brief overview of the financials, I'll leave the word back to Martin for a summary.

Thank you, Bjarne. After 2 years of construction work, we are pleased to call ourself fish farmers. We have completed 2 highly successful smolt releases. Following smolt release, we have experienced very high survival rates and strong growth, where we have better performance in all areas compared to the first production cycle in K0. Financially, we do have strong support from larger existing shareholders with approximately NOK 300 million equity funding, together with enhanced bank debt of NOK 200 million to support current build-out phases, gradually nearing full completion. Following a claim against the previous contractor, we now have a new contractor in place to ensure that the progress meet the operational needs for smolt release in 2026. So we will show a short video from the smolt release before we go over to the Q&A. [Presentation]

And then are we ready for the Q&A, and you can submit questions through the webcast solution. But before we open the floor for questions, I would like to note that due to the ongoing dispute with our former contractor, I'm not in a position to comment on matters related to this case. We will, however, ensure that the market is informed in a timely and appropriate manner in accordance with our disclosure obligations. So Bjarne, please read up some of the questions that we have received.

Yes. First question, how many smolts are you planning to release in 2026?

Yes. We are planning to release between 3.2 million and 3.8 million smolt in 2026 with the first release in the spring of '26. And the reason for this range is due to ongoing process to finalize details such as the post-smolt production with sea-based farmers. And the final timing and the numbers will be communicated later as we are currently working on the last agreement related to post-smolt.

Yes. When do you expect to release fish in pool K5 and K6?

There is an operational need for additional pool beyond K1 and K4, starting from the second quarter of '27. And the reason for this is that we can build up biomass using the same model as with this autumn, where we released a larger number of smolt and then transfer them to new pools. We have already completed significant work on K5 and K7. For example, the inlet section for K5 is finalized along with 1 pool wall and similar for K6, which is slightly further behind in production compared to K5. So -- but as we said in the presentation already from this spring and summer, we will have a capacity for 11,000 tonnes in annual production. So this allow us to have a very efficient ramp-up of the biomass in parallel as we are completing the next pools.

What is the target harvest weight for the current batches?

The target weight is very similar to what we see in sea-based salmon farming. What we will do is that we will, for example, in K0, we will start the harvesting and split the total batch into -- we will start with 1 slaughter batch in autumn, early autumn. And we had target weight around 4, 4.5 kilos HOG. And also, we see the opportunity to grow further on the biomass after we have taken some part of the batch out of the pool. So to answer your question, it's very similar to how we sit in the sea. But also, we need to take into consideration how we can optimize their full capacity and pool utilization.

Okay. More questions about biology here. You brought in your presentation that you have purchased good quality smolt from SalMar. How do you assess if the smolt is of high quality or not?

Yes. We have done both internally and externally assessment of the smolt, both with our own in-house veterinarian, but also external assessment of Akerbla. And after it's released in the pool, we, of course, monitor the fish on a daily and weekly and monthly basis, both internally, and then we have a monthly assessment by veterinarian from Akerbla. So -- and then we are measuring on different parameters in the Laksvel system.

Yes. On Slide 8, you comment on a trend line to a 95% survival rate for 15 months production cycle. Should we assume that you are targeting a 15-month production cycle going forward?

As we said in the presentation, we are targeting at 12 to 15 months production. And with the growth curve that we see so far, we see that we have the potential to produce faster than 12 months also because we have a stronger growth compared to what we initially had in our planning. But we are calculating and basing our models on a 12- to 15-month production cycle, which means that the size will vary within the timing of the slaughtering.

Could you elaborate whether you are confident in future CapEx estimates. For instance, why should 2B be less than half the cost of 2A? Yes. I think it's important to understand what the different steps include. If you look at Step 1, it includes the first 4 pools, but also significant infrastructure, tunnels, waterways, especially. If you look at Step 2A, it's the next 4 pools, but it also contains technical infrastructure for all 12 pools that we are now in the project of building. So Step 2A includes a lot more than Step 2B. If you look at Step 2B, that only includes pools 9 to 12 and no infrastructure investments. So that is the reason of -- because it is different between the budget. So the budget for the pools itself is similar in the different steps. It seems like the fish in K0 is growing slightly faster than the smolt release in K1. What is the reason for this?

First, the timing of the release is -- on the K0 is more beneficial compared to the release in K1, because if you're releasing in September, you are gaining on the higher temperatures that we had at that time compared to lower temperatures in November. And it also takes more time to adapt to new surroundings. If the temperatures is slow and also the light has an impact. And there are also individually difference between the biology. So the groups can perform different depending on where they are in the production cycles. So I say that -- but when that is said, we are now, as I said also in the presentation, we are now really see that the K1 is starting to really increase the appetite. And we see that especially the last week, we have had extremely high increasing in the daily production on K1. So a slower start, but it's a very good start that we have to comment on that.

It seems like survival rate is better than your projections. Do you think the 17,000 tonnes is too conservative and that you will be able to produce more than that?

I think we just will stick to communicated production plans. There are many factors impacting how the planning will be. Of course, it's a potential to produce more. This is based on the assumptions that we did before we started the new production cycle. So of course, we see now a potential. But we also have to take into consideration -- the license that we also have. So that's -- I would say it's a puzzle with different bricks to ensure that you get the most optimal production plan.

Your feed conversion rate is below 1, meaning that you require less than 1 kilo feed to grow 1 kilo salmon. How is this possible?

The feed has a higher energy content compared to the salmon. So it's in the salmon, you have, for example, water and which is increasing the weight. So if you eat 1 kilo of butter, you gain more weight than eating 1 kilo of bread. So that's how it's working and more energy in the feed.

Have you looked into light manipulation to improve growth?

Our philosophy is to base our production on the natural cycles in -- to try to have as most as possible natural production cycle as possible. But of course, we are using light in the pool to increase the productivity and we're now in the new versions of both K1 and K0 have more a different light regime compared to what we have in the first production cycle. But the main profit we achieve with this is actually that we can utilize the entire day when also after its dark to utilize and have longer feeding period in the darkest time of the year.

Could you briefly explain how you handle the fish waste, including whether the waste is dry before transport?

Yes. It's probably used -- well now, we're talking about this. But first, we are using an ingredient, feces binder in their feed to make the feces more firm and then it's synced to the bottom of the pool. In these open cache in the sea, you want to achieve the opposite because you want to spread it around. We can then collect it with ROVs on the pool floor, which then can have a very efficient cleaning of the pool floor with large particles. And thereafter, we are taking the waste or the organic material into a more sophisticated process where we are reducing the water content in the sludge. In combination with mechanically removing of the water, we are also using polymers to increase the organic particles yield out of the water. And so -- and thereafter, after taking down the water level at the ridges, we can -- we have different alternatives. And in the first production cycle, we used it for biogas production and now we're also working with other alternatives, how we can utilize this as a commercial resource.

Can you comment on expected cash flow from investments in Q4 '25? Yes. We've been through a period now with really high activity on the construction side. We are with several parallel activities going on in parallel with the tunnels that was completed this summer with the harbor also with the technical infrastructure, pool building and infrastructure work in the waterways. So there's been a lot -- it's been a really intense period where all disciplines have been working in parallel. And now a lot of the infrastructure is complete. We are now utilizing this infrastructure in the operations. So we will see lower investments now going forward. And I think I can say it will be significantly lower from fourth quarter and forward as the activities now will focus on construction of pools and technical installations. Given the growth of K0 in 2022. How do you rate the chances of reaching a weight of 5-kilo plus in the new generations of salmon?

Yes, this is what we are targeting to do. And we don't see anything that should not make this as a total realistic plan. So as we said in the earlier question, we are targeting more or less the same weight as we do in sea-based salmon farming. But in addition, we also had to take into consideration how we can optimize the production plan to utilize the full capacity. So we have plenty of space, plenty of water enough to achieve the same weight as we have in sea-based salmon farming.

Is there any limitation to winter outset due to temperatures?

There -- the limitations, it's what -- is what we -- self, set ourself because we want to have optimized smolt releases. And as we see it, it's beneficial to avoid releasing smolt in the coldest and the darkest time of the year, especially in January, February and March. With that said, we see that our temperatures and our light regime actually allow us to also utilize this period for smolt release, but we will not have smolt releases in this time of the year for now in the start-up. And that will be probably something that we will explore later in the coming years after we have had some production cycles behind us.

Are there room for higher flow-through in K0 or K1 as there are less pools active?

The pool capacity is dimension based on the infrastructure like, for example, the wall, the perforated wall elements and the pump capacity. And as we see it, for example, now in K1, we have a capacity for 11,000, 12,000 -- 11, 12 cubics of water every second, 40,000 cubics of water consumption every hour. That's an extremely high water consumption. Of course, it's possible to increase this, but this is -- the water consumption will not be the bottleneck in the production capacity for the pools.

Did you receive any feedback from the last batch you saw? And will these customers be relevant for the upcoming batches?

Yes. We achieved very good feedback on the salmon from the first production cycle when it comes to the consistence, the color and the taste, and we sold it mainly to processors in Europe to get an honest feedback on the quality. And of course, the target with dispatch was to give a sample of what they could expect in the coming years. So we have already now been in dialogue with some of the customers from the first batch and they are really looking forward to receive more salmon in the autumn of 2026.

Do you have a cost plus contract with a new contractor? If not, what is the contract structure?

We have -- if you look at the models on the contract with new contractor, it's important to underline that it's more or less our based work remaining on the site. Much of the concrete elements and the concrete work is already completed. So material is already there. So it's all just like mounting already produced elements into the new pools. So we see it beneficial now to have a contract where we are basing our -- and using the experience that we have had from our own -- in our own organization and then work together with the new contractor. So it's a cost plus, but also, of course, we have now the control on the last calculations of the remaining work.

Yes. It's also fair to say that on the pools 5 to 8, there will be some sort of fixed price on that.

Yes, yes.

I've read you aim at maximum density of salmon at 35-kilo per cubic, is this still so?

We have the capacity for a much higher density than 45 to 40 kilos per cubic, which is half of what other is producing. So what's important to keep in mind when you are looking into how we produce salmon is that we are peaking at, for example, 40 to 60-kilo per cubic. But in average, the density is quite low because it takes time before and before the fish is up into a certain weight where we can really utilize the pool capacity. It's a benefit on behalf of the [ Belge ] but of course, we then need to have, for example, the post-smolt opportunity and the splitting to increase the flexibility and utilization of the pool capacity.

What is the remaining CapEx today to finish Stage 2A and what is the risk around this figure due to a new contractor? The remaining CapEx, we commented on that in the presentation, is around NOK 450 million in CapEx. And the risk around that related to a new contract that we see that we have been working for a long time to assess alternatives for pools 5 to 8. And what we see from the different offers we get is that they are really competitive compared to our budget and also the work that is being done up to now. So -- and also, as I said, there will be some sort of fixed price or at least maximum price for the pools 5 to 8, so that will reduce the risk for Andfjord. So I would say that where Andfjord is now the risk around future CapEx is significantly lower than before. I think we've started to go through -- there are many questions. Some of them is about the same topics that we have already answered. So I think we're reaching the finish line now.

Yes. And also, as I said in the start, in connection to the ongoing disputes, we can refer to the stock exchange announcement sent on third of December and today's quarter presentation. And this explains the details related to our claim and the background from the disagreement. And in case you have more questions or needs some clarification about what we have been talking about today, please take contact with the management directly, and you can find both our telephones and e-mails on our web page. So with that, I would like everyone for joining us today and wish you all a good day. Thank you.