Norwegian cod farmer Norcod raised NOK 175 million (€18.1 million/$20 million) in a private share placement that will go towards increasing biomass and developing two new locations.
Just over 2.1 shares were sold at a subscription price of NOK 80 (€8.28/$9.13), reaching the upper end of Norcod's aim to raise gross proceeds of between NOK 150 million ($17 million/€15.6 million) and NOK 175 million ($20 million/€18.2 million).
Settlement of the placement is expected to use existing shares already listed on the Euronext Growth Oslo market, which will be borrowed from current shareholders Ronja Capital and Sirena Group as part of a share lending agreement.
In January, Norcod entered into an agreement with a Spanish supermarket chain as it hoisted harvest volume predictions by 10 percent.
The deal with the unnamed retailer is for 850 metric tons of cod with a fixed gross price of NOK 60 (€5.90/$6.67) per kilogram delivered in Spain.
The agreement followed fast on the heals of Norcod partnering with Myre-based Vesteralen Havbruk for the processing of all of its farmed cod from its Frosvika facility in northern Norway, covering harvests up to 10,000 metric tons per year.
Norcod also posted higher revenues in the third quarter thanks to its first sizeable commercial harvest. Nevertheless, the higher costs associated with producing the fish drove earnings into the red.
The company reported operating losses of NOK 8.1 million (€821,155/$950,753) versus a profit of NOK 9.7 million (€983,359/$1.1 million) in the same period in 2020.
Its first significant sales revenues came in at NOK 15.9 million (€1.6 million/$1.9 million) for the quarter, up from a negligible NOK 387,000 (€39,233/$45,425) in 2020, but the sales couldn't make up for the higher relative costs of harvesting the small volume of fish during the period.
The initial harvest period is considered one of the most valuable milestones for Norcod, which has been working for four years to begin production along the Norwegian coast. From the start of harvesting in mid-August to the end of the quarter, 345 metric tons (round weight) were harvested.
"This very significant milestone is proof of concept, demonstrating that Norcod has achieved commercially viable, biologically superior farmed cod, which paves the way for a positive and lucrative future for the industry," said the company.
A batch of 2.4 million fish was also transferred to three sea sites at the company's locations in Meloy and Froya last summer.
The company also began construction of its new cod fry facility, Havlandet Norcod, through its 50-50 joint venture with Havlandet Marin Yngel, and is recruiting additional operational personnel.
This production site, which has a license to produce 24 million fry per year, will be ready to receive its first fry in autumn of 2022.
The company said it was "well on its way" to processing an expected volume of 5,000 metric tons in the next few months.
