By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
Third quarter financial results for AquaBounty were recently on November 5th, 2024. Highlights and recent developments included:
-“Net loss in the third quarter of 2024 was down significantly at $3.4 million as compared to $6.1 million in the third quarter of 2023, primarily due to the sale of the Indiana farm.”
-“Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $500 thousand as of September 30, 2024, as compared to $9.2 million as of December 31, 2023.”
-“The sale of the Indiana farm, which included certain equipment from the Ohio farm, was completed on July 26, 2024, for $9.2 million, net of expenses. A portion of the net proceeds was used to pay off the bridge loan for the transaction.”
-“On September 3, 2024, the Company announced that it had made the decision to sell its Rollo Bay farm operation on Prince Edward Island, Canada.”
Additionally, a management commentary section stated the following. “We continue to focus our efforts on working with our investment banking partner to extend our cash runway, while reviewing a variety of financing initiatives to maintain liquidity,” said Dave Melbourne, AquaBounty’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“Included in this effort was our decision to market our Rollo Bay farm for sale. As I stated in our announcement, the Rollo Bay farm was purchased and developed to support an expansion plan for five large land-based grow-out farms.”
“Since we will not require the egg output from the Rollo Bay farm in the near to mid-term timeframe, and since we will retain sufficient egg production capacity for our Ohio farm from our hatchery in Bay Fortune, we determined that the Rollo Bay farm could be sold at this time to address the Company’s immediate cash requirements without impacting our long-term strategy.”
“We have also been working to reduce costs where appropriate and our results for the quarter show a significant reduction in both our operating spend and our net loss.”
“We are fully committed to securing the pathway forward for our Company and stockholders, and we will continue to work to stabilize the business in the short term and drive value creation in the long term. I look forward to sharing continued updates in the future,” concluded Melbourne.
Following the release of the financial report, The Village Reporter reached out to a AquaBounty Media Contact, John Curtis of Fahlgren Mortine, in order to obtain information regarding construction efforts for the Pioneer site.
“Regarding your inquiry, AquaBounty is finalizing plans to move forward and complete the construction of their Ohio farm.” The recently released financial statement, and all other prior ones, can be found on the AquaBounty website.
