Norway-based aquaculture equipment and technology supplier Akva has appointed Stig Forre as chief operating officer (COO) of its international sea-based division.
Forre has previously held the positions of chief commercial officer and vice president of business development at Norway-based aquaculture technology company Scale AQ, and has had several leading positions in the aquaculture industry during the last 25 years.
He started his career in Denmark-based feed company BioMar in 1995, before entering the technology industry in 2005.
Challenging conditions
Excluding a one-time gain of NOK 33 million (€2.8 million/$3.1 million) from the sale of shares in Atlantis Subsea Farming, Akva’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell14 percent in the first quarter of 2023, to NOK 59 million (€5.1 million/$5.5 million) amid "challenging market conditions."
Revenue for the quarter reached NOK 874 million (€75.5 million/$82 million), an increase of 3 percent from the same period a year ago.
The group said it had an “acceptable” order intake of NOK 1.17 billion (€101 million/$109.8 million) in the first quarter of this year, and an order backlog of NOK 2 billion (€172.7 million/$187.7 million) at the end of March.
The increase was mainly due to a large contract with land-based salmon producer Nordic Aqua Partners, which is expanding its facility in China. The estimated contract value is €40 million ($43.5 million).
