Proximar Seafood AS (PROXI) Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, and thank you for joining the fourth quarter presentation of Proximar Seafood today. Together with me here from our office now, I have our new CFO, Tetsuya Kobayashi, who joined us from the first of December. We will first go through the highlights for the fourth quarter and market update before we spend some time on the operational development and outlook. We will also have a Q&A session after concluding our presentation. Looking back at the fourth quarter, we continued our weekly harvest. Through the quarter, we harvested 339 tonnes HOG. The harvest volume was affected by decision to push harvest from the fourth quarter into 2026, following lower growth rates due to various issues we have had earlier in 2025. These issues also explained the low average weight of only 2.1 kilograms HOG, which in turn also impacted the price achievement on the average. It's, however, encouraging to see that the price achievement for the market size fish, meaning above 3 kilograms HOG, achieving NOK 112 per kilogram. This compares to the average export price for Norway of NOK 85 per kilogram and demonstrates the continued strong cost advantage of Proximar. Since we had a lot of small fish being harvested and sold, this dragged down the average price achievement to NOK 65 per kilogram. We continue to see positive development in the operations following a broad range of initiatives to improve farming and operational conditions in the third quarter, in turn, also shown positive biological performance. On the financing side, we completed the NOK 150 million price offering and voluntary conversion of NOK 198 million of the outstanding convertible bond to equity. In December, the Chairman to leasing loan was refinanced and it was also increased by additional NOK 50 million. We also strengthened our finance team with our new CFO here in Japan. Kobayashi-san has great experience from banking and finance in Japan and Asia, which is very relevant for us going forward. And we're very pleased to have him on board and this is the last part of the transition of all our staffing from Norway to Japan. I'm pleased to see the positive effects already by having strengthened our finance team here locally, also considering the financing and refinancing work to be done in 2026. The survival rate in the grow out for the quarter was 99.7%, and we reached our standing biomass target by the end of the year. Fish health continues to be good, which is also reflected in the high superior graded fish, which was above 98% for the quarter. With the standing biomass and number of batches in production, we are well positioned for 2026. I will now give the word over to Kobayashi-san to go through the summary of the financial figures for the fourth quarter.

Thank you, Joachim-san. On the P&L seat, we had approximately NOK 21 million in sales and NOK 30 million from insurance payouts yielding NOK 34.3 million in revenue in the fourth quarter compared to NOK 3.4 million in the fourth quarter 2024. We reported EBITDA of plus NOK 2.4 million. Adjusting for insurance, fair value and write-off, the adjusted EBITDA was minus NOK 17.2 million. The write-down is related to Batch 11, which showed lower growth than anticipated. Harvest from this combined batch in January 2026 showed that the portion of the fish have not grown as anticipated resulting in a wide size distribution and lower average weight. Harvest of this batch has therefore been brought forward to free up capacity and allows the company to focus on later batches, which show markedly better biological performance, the effect attributable to reduced growth has been reflected as an event-driven loss and consequently resulting in the write-down. The net financial result was minus NOK 23.6 million, resulting in a total loss of NOK 39.9 million before tax for the fourth quarter 2025. Due to lower-than-expected growth, lower harvest weights and consecutively lower prices, the revenue side disappointed and related to the losses we see. Moving on to the next page on the balance sheet. Total assets were approximately NOK 1.5 billion with equity around NOK 429 million. The refinancing measures included NOK 200 million convertible bond conversion and NOK 150 million rights issue. Extended maturities and interest reduction, improving equity ratio from 24.2% to 28.6%. We also refinanced that JA Mitsui Leasing long in December and in conjunction with this increased the loan amount by additional NOK 50 million with the new maturity in December this year. Looking at the current liabilities, NOK 705 million of total NOK 803 million is interest-bearing liabilities, meaning the syndicated bank loan and JA Mitsui Leasing loan, both maturing this year. We are now starting discussions to secure the financing of these loans also targeting to simplify our capital sector further. Now back to you, Joachim-san.

Thank you, Kobayashi-san. Moving on to the market development. The consumption of Atlantic salmon in Japan has recovered from the dip in 2023, and the demand for Fuji Atlantic salmon remains high. We also expect the consumption to continue growing as Atlantic salmon is continuing to gain popularity amongst the younger generations here in the market. The global prices finally showed a recovery from third quarter levels, and the implied transportation cost remain stable. This translated to attractive price achievement for our market size fish, which means fish above 3 kilograms HOG. And for this group, the average price was NOK 112 per kilogram which is net price to Proximar in the fourth quarter, showing the competitive advantage of Proximar compared to the imported fish. The interest for Fuji Atlantic salmon remains high. We also see more stable prices and less sensitivity to market fluctuations. Our challenge has been to supply steady volumes of market size fish. And this has also, to a certain extent, impacted the price achievement for the 3 kilogram fish and above. I believe this slide is an important 1 to highlight. This clearly shows 1 of the most important factors in our business model, but also shows how close we are to achieve good returns and expected profitability. As we now start to look forward and becoming a more stable supplier of above 3 kilograms, we are well positioned to achieve attractive prices and continue to target a price premium on top of the benchmark. This graph shows the price achievement for 2025 for all our sales and comparing to Oslo export price. The red column shows our price achievement for the fish above 3 kilograms. And as you see, the average is approximately 36% above the export price from Oslo. We're therefore bearing cursed to see our price expectations have materialized, giving us a solid cost advantage as we now move forward, we expect this to translate into good profitability as our harvest was passed the 3-kilogram threshold. And as we become a more stable supplier, we expect this will in turn further positively impact price achievement. Now moving on to an update on our operations and the development here. We're pleased to see the facility continues to show stable performance and the measures taken last year has shown consistent and positive effects. This makes us very encouraged as we enter 2026 with better biological control and growth conditions overall. We are now, at our standing biomass target around 2,000 tonnes. And as you see, we really made good progress in the fourth quarter. The current standing biomass translates to approximately 67 kilograms per cubic meter, which is in line with an annual production volume of around 4,000 tonnes HOG. And from the system performance we've seen, we are still targeting a density of 80 kilograms per cubic meter, which in turn means an annual production of around 5,000 tonnes, but still planning for a gradual and controlled increase. We will also review our production plan going forward to see how we can optimize the utilization of the facility in the longer term. Taking into consideration the strong price achievement threshold is 3 kilograms plus. We will still see how we can optimize by having more individuals an earlier harvest rather than pushing for 4 kilograms HOG. As most of the fish goes to processing for fillets, it is rather a question of general price achievement and fillet yield more than the actual harvest size. But then again, the volume must be compensated by maintaining more individuals in production. For 2025, we have a survival rate of 99% in the grow out, excluding incidents. The largest incidents was the loss of 170,000 fish in 1 of our production tanks in May. And we've also had some small mortality incidents, primarily related to fish transfers. For the year, we achieved 99% superior share, which is really outstanding. And I believe both the survival rate and superior share proves the performance capacity of the facility. Also bearing in mind the challenges we had in 2025 and the suboptimal growth conditions for a large part of the year. We have several times communicated issues with the turbidity. High turbidity has caused us to reduce feeding, which, in turn, directly impacts growth. We now have an internal policy that if NTU, which is the measurement of turbidity, if this passes 5, we reduce feeding. And if it passes 8, we stop. And as you see on these graphs, we are now well below critical levels in all 4 modules in the grow out and also well below 1 NTU. Low turbidity levels gives us better operational control, and we can see the fish and behavior and easier just feeding according to appetite. But it also gives us the opportunity now to use AI and cameras to monitor. Since the end of December, we could finally start using the AI Fish Camera. This gave us the opportunity to check our standing biomass and provides us valuable insights to size distribution. Both average sizes and distribution have been challenging for us in 2025, and we have continuously been disappointed despite extensive sampling and efforts to assess sizes and growth. With the AI-based camera, we now have a much better understanding of the biomass and we can also monitor growth performance. We have checked all tanks with fish above 1 kilogram and we'll continue on a biweekly basis going forward to check these times, monitoring growth and calibrating biomass. As for the quality of the prediction, we see that the camera gives a high degree of position with smaller deviations, which adds to our comfort. The graph here illustrates this point showing the deviations from the camera measurements to the actual harvest results. The results of the camera samplings was also the reason for our downward adjustment of biomass as disclosed in our production update on the 9 February, and mostly related to Batch 11, which is a mixed batch. In April 2025, due to the reduced capacity following the biofilter incidence, we decided to mix 4 batches into what we named Batch 11. At that time, the alternative was to take out small fish, so we, therefore, decided to keep as many fish as possible in an effort to optimize production volumes and tank utilization. In addition, we continue to face issues through the third quarter, including high turbidity and temperatures and unsteady feeling. This directly affecting growth performance in the batches harvested in the fourth quarter and well into the first quarter. I'm now pleased that we are approaching the end of the mix Batch 11. And the last fish from this space is expected to be harvested in the mid-March. The batches coming after Batch 11 shows much better performance, as you can see here on the graph, we see the performance improving as we compare batches having less and less time in the suboptimal growth conditions in 2025. This means our expectations are now finally aligning with our production brand and perhaps more importantly, also bringing our harvest weighs above the 3-kilogram threshold in terms of securing good price achievement and revenues. The strong and positive development translates directly into our positive outlook for 2026 and certainly as we enter the second quarter with better performing batches. The first quarter, as said, will be heavily impacted by Batch 11 and smaller fish and quality, and we expect an average harvest weight of around 2.4 kilograms HOG. As we enter the second quarter and beyond, we expect to be above 3 kilograms HOG on average and gradually improving further. For the full year, we expect a harvest volume between 3,500 to 4,000 tonnes HOG, an average size achievement of around 3.5 kilos. However, adjusting for the first quarter, the average harvest weight for the remaining 3 quarters is expected to be above 3.5 kilograms. And with the previous slide showing actual price achievement for fish above 3 kilograms. We are, therefore, expecting this to eventually translate into good profitability. The lower volumes and price achievement expected in the first quarter negatively impacts our cash flow and liquidity. We have, therefore, initiated several dialogues with various banks for additional funding in terms of credit lines to bridge the gap that we see. We're also refinancing a short-term loan. And although we have not reached final conclusions where we're making good progress and have positive expectations to secure these funds with debt financing. Since we do not expect to fulfill our waiver related to the 2 months our sales covenant for January and February, we have proactively approached our banks for a waiver for the first quarter. The banks are showing a supportive attitude, although no waiver has yet been given. However, having said that, based on our discussions, we expect this to be granted. We received part of our business interruption and insurance payout in February of approximately NOK 40 million, and we are still waiting for a decision on the full settlement and timing of this payment. We are experiencing positive momentum in the financing discussions and our banks are showing a supportive attitude and Kobayashi-san has already initiated several new processes, not only to address the short-term needs but also the upcoming refinancing in August. It is also clear that now as we show more track record, external interest is increasing, and we expect this to continue as we move forward towards positive cash flow and positive earnings. So wrapping up, we are excited on the outlook for 2026 and beyond. And we feel now that we are finally in good shape and well positioned. The recent improvements and increased control of our biomass makes us optimistic on our performance and economics as we look into the second quarter and beyond. The issues we had in 2025 are largely a result. And although we are still seeing the late effects on Batch 11, we see the batches coming behind showing much better performance. With the current number of fish and growth expectations, we see a total harvest volume in the range of 3,500 to 4,000 tonnes HOG for the full year, and we are not far from reaching the 3-kilogram threshold on average harvest sizes to tend attractive market prices and expect this to materialize in the second quarter and thereafter. As for the financing and refinancing, we are experiencing strong support from our banks and also increased interest from other financing institution and banks. Starting to finally show economic performance is also expected to further contribute to this interest. Finally, we are also exploring Stage 2 alternatives, and we are receiving incoming proposals also from other markets in Asia. We continue to explore these alternatives, both in terms of location but also in terms of alternative ways to finance such growth, including more asset-light models. This also meaning that we are not planning for any such CapEx at current stage. Being an early mover in the grow-out RAS industry and with the learning curve made from planning, construction and production, Proximar carries a strong value proposition, which is generating inquiries for new opportunities. Anyway, as I have said before, our focus is, first of all, to get Stage 1 up and running, but we are, of course, also looking into future opportunities with the aim to create shareholder values. And with these words, I will conclude our presentation today, and we will now open up for questions.

All right. We've received 1 question here asking why we could not keep or save the fish, growing it to above 3 kilograms HOG. And if that was related to sales agreements. The main reason why we had to harvest fish or have below 3 kilograms is related to tank capacity. We have been through the fourth quarter, pushing fish from the fourth quarter into the first quarter, but we are now at a level where we have limited flexibility. On the other hand, we also had 2 tanks specifically with Batch 11 fish that did not show any significant growth and meaning that even though we would hold it back, we did not expect it to grow to 3 kilograms within a reasonable period. So that's why we decided to free up tank capacity to avoid a chain reaction to later batches. So we take out the fish that is nonperforming, and we prioritize growth in the coming batches behind. We have no further questions for now. So please, if any questions. If not, we will conclude the presentation. Another question here. Cost per kilogram remain artificial high at current scale. What is the expected cost trajectory as volumes ramp up? So we are -- we have not communicated this yet. This is something we will bring back in our next quarterly update. But we do have high cost -- artificially high cost for the 2025. We have fish that has been in the facility for a very long time and -- which also has carried a large part of the production cost. So that's why we will see this fish also having very high cost at this stage. But we gradually expect this to improve as we now get to the batches behind. Would you consider report harvest volumes on a monthly basis? We do not, at this stage, planned for monthly harvest volumes. We will continue on the quarterly updates as we've done so far. So that means that by the end of the quarter, we issue a harvest update on the beginning of the -- just after the end of the quarter. And then we have the quarterly reports, which is in between. So it's every -- the frequency, we believe is okay at the current stage. There's a question here on the interest expenses for the quarter.

Yes. Actually, the fourth quarter 2025 our interest paid is NOK 3.49 million.

There's another question here. What do you expect to invest on a running basis in 2026 and beyond in maintenance CapEx? We do not foresee any larger investments in the current year. And as for maintenance CapEx, we do not foresee any larger maintenance. This is ongoing. We have a technical team that is doing maintenance on a daily basis. And the large part of the equipment has a long lifetime. So we do not see any bigger investments. So if there are no more questions. I think we will end this update, and we will be back in the end of May for the next first quarter update. And in between, we will also issue the production update early April.