Kats, Netherlands-based Kingfish Company achieved record sales growth in Q2 2024, building on what it called a promising start in Q1 2024.
In a trading update, the company said it saw 36 percent sales growth in Q2 2024 compared to Q2 2023. The company sold 512 metric tons (MT) of its recirculating aquaculture system yellowtail kingfish in the quarter, compared to 377 MT in the same quarter last year.
“During the second quarter, the company demonstrated substantial sales acceleration,” Kingfish said in a release. “This growth is a result of focused efforts to penetrate key markets and expand into new territories.”
The company earned EUR 7.3 million (USD 7.9 million) in Q2 2024, up 31 percent from the EUR 5.6 million (USD 6.1 million) it posted in Q2 2023.
While revenue and sales volume increased, the company’s revenue per kilogram dropped slightly. The company said it earned EUR 14.20 (USD 15.40) per kilogram of fish in Q2 2024, down from EUR 14.80 (USD 16.05) in Q2 2023.
The positive results come after Kingfish said in both its FY 2023 and Q1 2024 results that it was placing a focus on marketing and sales as the company achieves the biomass carrying capacity of its facility.
“Our primary focus this year is on further development of sales and operations; we are expanding sales to both existing and new clients in Europe and North America while simultaneously exploring new markets for our yellowtail kingfish,” Kingfish Company CEO Vincent Erenst said in Q1 2024. “We will also work with our team on further improvement of operational efficiency.”
Now, the company said that renewed focus is already showing results.
“The additional investment in commercial activities has begun to yield results, resulting in market growth for Kingfish Company’s main product yellowtail kingfish, in the professional and retail sectors,” the company said.
Kingfish also highlighted its biological performance was strong in Q2 2024. The company’s standing biomass doubled to 1,075 MT in the quarter, up from 512 MT in Q2 2023. The net biomass growth for the quarter also increased, reaching 631 MT of growth, up from 512 MT of growth in Q2 2023.
The increase in biomass and biomass growth coincided with higher harvest volumes, as it harvested 599 MT of yellowtail kingfish in Q2 2024, up 55 percent from the 387 MT it said it harvested in Q2 2023.
“With the RAS systems functioning optimally, the company continues to prove its capability in producing high-quality fish in a reliable, consistent, and sustainable manner,” Kingfish Company said.
The full Q2 2024 results and the results for the first half of 2024 will be released on 5 September 2024, Kingfish Company said.
Kingfish's expansion in the U.S. state of Maine continues to be on hold. The company managed to receive all state-level permitting for the project in 2021, but appeals from opponents of the project have continuously stalled it. Some of those permits have since been upheld, but a key permit that was initially upheld by the Kennebec County Superior Court has since been appealed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, where it awaits a ruling.
