Land-based producer Salmon Evolution is evaluating potential production sites in North America as part of its international expansion outside of Norway.
The company expects to use the next few quarters to identify the final location and begin the process of increasing its production capacity to 100,000 metric tons by 2032.
Its first batch of fish, being farmed in Norway, is continuing to show strong biological performance, according to the group's third quarter presentation, with an average weight of 3.3 kilos and 4.7 kilos as of Nov. 15.
The company also said quality testing has confirmed good fillet quality and taste.
"The first feedback from customers has been very positive, which clearly demonstrates the strong opportunity for our product in the market," wrote Salmon Evolution in its results presentation Wednesday.
"Salmon is a global market after all, " said interim CEO Trond Hakon Schaug-Pettersen. "We want to do something in Norway as well, but the market is limited in Norway so we have taken a global approach."
Salmon Evolution's third quarter revenue showed a loss of NOK 200,000 (€19,210/$19,921) in the quarter, compared to NOK 12 million (€1.15/$1.2 million) in the same period last year. Biomass adjustments were NOK 6 million (€576,000/$598,000) and profit before tax showed a loss of NOK 14 million (€1.3 million/$1.4 million).
Available cash and cash equivalents were NOK 457 million (€43.9 million/$45.5 million) at the end of the quarter, compared to NOK 505 million (€48.5 million/$50.3 million) at the start of 2022.
CEO Hakon Andre Berg stepped down as CEO of Salmon Evolution Oct. 25, with CFO Schaug-Pettersen taking over until a permanent replacement is found.
