Andfjord raises £24 million and agrees new post-smolt deal
The land-based salmon farmer is gearing up for faster revenue and lower risk through a new strategic partnership with Eidsfjord Seafarm. It is also raising capital in a private placement.
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The Norwegian company announced several major milestones on Monday afternoon. The most important operational news is a strategic partnership with Eidsfjord Seafarm (Holmøy Aquaculture) that changes the company's outlook for the coming years.
Focusing heavily on post-smolts
The partnership means that Andfjord Salmon will deliver significant quantities of post-smolts to Eidsfjord Seafarm in 2026 and 2027. Deliveries of around one million post-smolts are planned for 2026.
For Andfjord Salmon, this means a shorter path to commercial income:
Increased capacity utilisation: the company can capitalise on its pool capacity faster than with traditional farming alone.
Secures the value chain: the agreement ensures access to smolts and includes a harvesting agreement with Holmøy Aquaculture, which provides security for capacity when the fish are ready.
Capital injection: as part of the collaboration, Eidsfjord Seafarm is contributing NOK 100 million to the company's recent share issue.
“The partnership allows us to better utilise our pool capacity, which shortens the time to revenue and improves our cash flow,” says CEO Martin Rasmussen in a comment.
Collects NOK 300m after budget gap
At the same time as the new agreements are presented, the company is carrying out a private placement of a minimum of NOK 300 million (£23.8m) at a price of NOK 27.50 per share.
The money is needed, among other things, to cover an increase in the construction budget at Andford's site at Kvalnes on the island of Andoya. The budget has been adjusted upwards by approximately NOK 330m. Of this, NOK 155m is related to remedial work that is the subject of a dispute with the previous contractor. The rest of the increase will go to upgrades of feeding lines, logistics and sludge treatment to increase efficiency.
Biology delivers above plan
Despite budget adjustments, the operational figures from basins K0 and K1 at Kvalnes show very good results. The company now has a standing biomass of over 1,300 tonnes:
Survival: impressive 99.3% in both pools.
Growth: the fish are growing faster than planned, and the company is advancing the first harvest to the third quarter of 2026.
By the end of week 16, the fish in the oldest pool (K0) had already reached an average weight of over 1.8 kilos. The company aims to reach a production capacity of 17,000 tonnes (had on gutted + post-smolts) in the current development phase.
