Proximar Seafood has secured JPY 1 billion (USD 7 million, EUR 6.3 million) in additional funds from Japanese banks as the company approaches its first harvest from its Yokohama, Japan-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS).
In an announcement posted to the Oslo Børs, Proximar said it has secured the additional funds for working capital purposes and to buffer its liquidity as it approaches the first sales of its Atlantic salmon. The funding is split into two loans of JPY 500 million (USD 3.5 million, EUR 3.2 million) from two separate banks, with the first loan being paid out on 20 September and the second loan available at the end of September.
The additional funding follows up a successful NOK 165 million (USD 15.6 million, EUR 14 million) private placement earlier in 2024, which the company said would help it weather operational costs approaching its first harvest.
“We are running the very first commercial Atlantic salmon-farming facility built in Japan and, with that, comes several challenges, among them also some cost increases that necessitate additional funding,” Proximar Seafood CEO Joachim Nielsen said at the time.
The company has continued to maintain its first harvest will take place in Q3 2024, and Proximar said it is now on track to harvest its salmon on 30 September as planned. The company faced a setback when a tank breach in February killed 50,000 salmon, but since that time, the company said it has fixed the issue causing the problem and reinforced its structure to prevent further incidents.
“This will be a trial harvest before initiating daily harvesting in the fourth quarter,” the company said.
With the harvest, Proximar will be the first company to produce Atlantic salmon from a RAS facility in Japan.
The company said in its H1 2024 results that it is ramping up its sales and marketing efforts, in part thanks to a strategic partnership with Marubeni the company signed in April 2022.
“I’m confident that our strategic partnership with Marubeni provides unmatched access to the Japanese market, strongly supported by a separate division and a dedicated team working with us,” Nielsen said.
