Hello, everyone, and welcome to this first quarter 2024 presentation from Proximar Seafood. The presentation will be given by our CEO, Joachim Nielsen, who is, as always, sitting in Japan, and myself, CFO Ole Christian Willumsen, currently sitting here in Bergen. Following the presentation, we will have a Q&A session, and that will be moderated by our strategy director, Marius Birkenes. With that, I'd like to hand it over to Joachim to kick us off. Joachim?
Thank you, Ole Christian, and good morning. We are now approaching first harvest, which is scheduled in September. We remain on track with our production target of 5,300 tons, HOG in 2027, and the facility is demonstrating good and stable performance, also in the grow-out building, which was taken into use in December. Since starting our production in October 2022, our biomass has developed positively and currently stands at 188 tons. As we are approaching harvest, activities on sales and marketing, together with Marubeni, is further intensifying. Market conditions remain very favorable, which we expect to translate into attractive financials when we now can finally start harvesting. We believe being first mover in Japan has a good value, and we are well-positioned to distribute our fish close to major markets and end consumers.
As we now see production up and running and harvesting starting, we will continue our efforts in planning further capacity growth. Proximar has a great potential to take advantage of our established platform and experience and to position ourselves to become the leading producer in Japan. 2024 is an important milestone year for Proximar. We are well on track in our transition from project and construction to steady operations. Biomass is continuing to increase, driven by regular egg inserts and good growth performance. By the end of the first quarter, we had 12 batches in production, and we also continued through the quarter our successful recruitment of new employees and aligned with our production requirement. At the end of first quarter, we were 38 employees in the company in total. The Japanese market outlook remains attractive.
Atlantic salmon is a popular fish, especially among the younger generation, which is an important driver for the future consumption growth. However, the sudden price increase seen over the last couple of years, combined with the relative picture comparing to other competitors of Atlantic salmon, has impacted consumption somewhat, but we believe this is short term. Long term, we believe the fundamentals are intact, and we expect the growth to continue as we look into the future. Prices remain high, driven also by the high cost of transportation to Japan. These, the transportation costs, have come down somewhat slight lately, but still remain at very high levels. As for highlights of the quarter, most important is the progress in our biomass, which we saw close to tripling.
We continued our transfer of fish to the grow-out from the nursery building, and currently we have five batches in the grow-out building as we speak. On the financing side, we raised NOK 165 million in the private placement and a repair offering. We also extended the maturity of the JA Mitsui Leasing loan from end of March 2024 to end of December 2025. Our production staffing developed according to plan, with all key positions secured. We see stable water quality and growth conditions, which is also very encouraging, and just last week, we did sample tests from our first batch. This is what we see here on the right-hand side. This fish just above three kilograms, with good color, good fat content, and also very good taste. Production is continuing to develop positively across all departments.
We also see the growth curves have picked up again for the batches which were exposed to the restricted feeding due to the biofilter maturation and reduced temperatures in conjunction with the transfer of the first batch in late December. We see low natural mortality. Unfortunately, we lost approximately 50,000 fish in conjunction with the tank breach, as communicated in early February. However, we have successfully continued transferring batches from the nursery to the grow-out. We have a total of five batches now transferred, and we see no abnormal mortality or other impact on growth post these transfers. We will also start maturing the biofilter now in the second module shortly to develop the biofilter ahead of fish transfer into this module, which is expected in June. This also to avoid feeding limitations like we saw in the first module.
Standing biomass is now at 188 tons, and the first batch planned to be harvested in September. This slide shows you some of the water parameters in the grow-out building. We continue to see stable water temperatures, which is the graph on the left-hand side, also during spring and with, despite these, sharp and sudden temperature variations and increases. We're now approaching summer and peak temperatures, but from what we saw last year in the nursery building, and also what we've seen so far in the grow-out building, we are confident that the water temperature will remain stable. As for the other water parameters, we see steady conditions and well within the suggested range for Atlantic salmon. Commenting on the ammonia, this was, also commented last time.
We saw the biofilters starting to work early end of January, early February, and since then, we have seen stable performance, which also means that the feeding has been back to normal since the end of January and early February in the grow-out. Here are some pictures from the grow-out building, and from the samples tested last week. This is the first batch which will be harvested in September. Currently, average size around 2.5 kg, although the biggest sample was around 3.1 kg. The sample testing showed very good results, with the color around 26+. Texture and taste was also very good, and with these results, we are also very excited in terms of the outlook and the harvesting ahead of us.
I will now hand it over to Ole Christian for some comments on the pricing in Japan and a quick review of our business model.
Thank you, Joachim. When we talk about pricing, it's natural to look at the cost picture for an importer of Atlantic salmon into Japan, as this represents the floor for the prices that can be expected. The blue part of the columns in this graph shows the import price into Japan from the National Statistical Bureau. We are also adding 3.5% duty and local handling cost. For local handling, which represent, which includes repackaging, re-icing, and some logistical costs, we add an element of NOK 5 per kilo. Adding these three elements together brings us to the cost of importing Atlantic salmon from Norway to Japan.
As you can see in this graph, we have represented the last nine quarters, and the total importing cost has varied between NOK 101 at the lowest level, and NOK 164 at the maximum. During the second half of last year, we saw a dip in the importing costs to NOK 120 per kilo, but we have lately seen an increase to approximately NOK 152 per kilo at the end of the last quarter. The average over the last quarter was NOK 143 per kilo. With this in mind, we remain optimistic in terms of good price achievement and believe we are very well positioned for the first harvest soon to start with a robust business model.
Now, let's look into what this can imply for the margins that can be obtained. Starting with the left-hand side, the red line illustrates what we just saw on the previous slide, namely, the cost of importing Atlantic salmon from Norway into Japan. The horizontal blue line at the bottom, between NOK 60-NOK 80 you see there, represents the estimated EBIT cost per kilo at the targeted annual harvest volume of 5,300 tons. Therefore, the shaded area in between those two lines is an indication of the profit margin that can be obtained for Proximar at our targeted volume. On the graph on the right-hand side, we are illustrating our EBIT cost at different harvesting volumes, and you see the dotted box around the target of 5,300 tons.
But the point with this graph is to illustrate that we could obtain good profitability also at the lower levels, including as far down as approximately 2,000 tons harvest a year. I'd now like to hand it back to Joachim for an update on our cooperation with Marubeni.
Thank you, Ole Christian. Following up on the slides from Ole Christian, it is now crucial to execute on the sales strategy as we proceed. We are therefore very encouraged on the activities here and the progress being made in Japan. Marubeni keeps showing a strong commitment to Proximar, and as of April, Marubeni reorganized, also strengthening their internal focus on aquaculture, which we believe is very positive for us. This also shows a strong dedication to the industry and long-term perspectives. Marubeni has also, in conjunction with this, established a Proximar division with a dedicated team in Benirei, which will be renamed to Marubeni Seafoods from July, consisting of four full-time dedicated members. The strong interest for Proximar salmon remains, and Marubeni is experiencing increased numbers of inquiries, not only from Japan, but also from several markets abroad.
Focus recently has been to narrow down customers, focusing on those sharing the value of Proximar salmon, sustainably and domestically produced. Typically, larger retail chains and restaurant chains on the national level are on the shortlist, and recently, discussions have also moved into more specific topics, including pricing and volumes, and we expect the first contracts well before first harvest. As for branding, this is ongoing, and we are making good progress, and the branding work is also done in collaboration with Marubeni, but Proximar is the owner of the brand. And I repeat what I've said before, I'm very pleased about the good partnership with Marubeni. They show a strong commitment, which also allows Proximar to focus on production as we now move forward. We continue to see strong interest for our company in Japan.
We see a good media coverage in different channels, and currently, we're also participating on SusHi Tech Tokyo, which is a large event hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. In terms of visitors, the expectations for SusHi Tech is more than 500,000, and Proximar will also hold a presentation at the event. Going forward, as we approach our harvest, more efforts are being planned, and we are also planning together with Marubeni, a media plan targeting major media channels. This to build even more visibility, awareness, and expectations of our upcoming harvest. We are on track in terms of staffing and aligned with the production requirement. We have a dedicated and motivated team with a strong commitment to making success. All key positions are filled, recently with our denitrification system manager on board, bringing further extensive and relevant experience from aquaculture and wastewater.
We have an outstanding team in place with broad and extensive experience, making Proximar well-positioned for the future. We also just recently started our internal training program to secure transfer of this large experience to the broader team. We're now 44 employees in total. Still, some positions are to be filled in the future, but in a more gradual and selected way. Our colleagues are doing a fantastic job on site, and this is a strong motivation for us all. I will now give the word back to Ole Christian to go through the first quarter numbers.
Thank you, Joachim. Let's start with the P&L, where we report a loss of NOK 29.5 million before tax for the quarter and NOK 30.0 million after tax. As planned, we see that the increased activity level in the quarter is reflected in the income statement, where more people, more feeds, more electricity, and also increased depreciation, have led to operating expenses of about NOK 20 million. I'd like to highlight one issue in the P&L statement that might need some explanation. It's the fair value adjustment. It's the first quarter that we report such a fair value adjustment since we now have multiple batches of fish in our post-smolt grow-out facility. The biological assets are, in accordance with international accounting standards, measured at fair value.
For salmon in the grow out facility, a present value model is applied to estimate this fair value. Changes in fair value of biological assets are recognized in the statement of profit and loss. For the period ending March 2024, fair value adjustment is performed for the first three batches in the post-smolt grow out building, resulting in a reduction of cost of about NOK 2.0 million. This implies that we're accounting for some of the profit we expect to earn once harvesting commences. More information about the methodology is given in note three into the accounts. Then moving over to the balance sheet. If we look at the overall picture, we have approximately NOK 1.5 billion worth of assets, financed two thirds by debt and one third by equity. Approximately 88% of these assets are non-current, meaning long-term assets.
It's the value of our land, our property, plants, and equipment. The current assets are mainly made up of cash following the private placement and rights offering, while the increase in biomass also has contributed. Looking at the liabilities side of the balance sheet, the equity is strengthened in the quarter through the private placement and subsequent rights offering, while being reduced by the net loss in the quarter. The net effect is an increase of approximately NOK 122 million in equity over the quarter. Looking at the liabilities, all our loans are now classified as non-current liabilities, and no repayments are due before August 2025, when the syndicated loan in Japan will fall due. The other three loans we have, the convertible loan, the shareholder loan, and the loan to JML, are all maturing in fourth quarter of next year.
Finally, a comment on the current liabilities. These are mainly related to normal trade payables and accrued interest in the convertible loan. And with that, I'd like to hand it back to Joachim for the summary and outlook slide.
Thank you, Ole Christian. Wrapping up, we continue to see encouraging performance in the system in terms of biology. We are well on track in terms of staffing, and the damaged tank causing the loss of the 50,000 fish in February is now repaired, and we keep doing preventive measures to avoid leakages and breaches in the future. Sales and marketing activities are developing as planned, and we remain very optimistic when it comes to the sales of our fish. We are well positioned for the future, and we are focusing on continuing now building our biomass. We are ahead of competition, and we start planning further capacity growth to take advantage of being first mover as we now get the first facility up and running and harvesting.
As for harvesting volumes, we estimate around 4,700 tons HOG for 2024 and 2025 combined, then gradually increasing to 5,300 tons in 2027, according to the production plan. For more specific estimates on 2024, we will get back on this, the main uncertainty related to the timing of volumes in December and January, not to the overall volumes. With this, we will now open up for questions.
Yes, welcome to this Q&A session in conjunction with Proximar's first quarter reporting. My name is Marius Birkenes. I'm the Director of Strategy in Proximar, and I will function as the moderator. Our CEO, Joachim Nielsen, and CFO, Ole Christian Willumsen, will be answering the questions. Joachim from our Yokohama office and Ole Christian from our Bergen office. We have gotten a few questions already, of which the first one goes to you, to you, Joachim. Can you say something about the interest for your product in Japan and the rest of Asia, and whether many potential customers are visiting the production facility?
Yes, we are experiencing quite strong interest for Proximar and our products. In the media, we have certainly had very good coverage since we started construction, and we now see that this is intensifying as we are getting closer to first harvest. We also know the people are becoming familiar with the fish that will be harvested now in 2024, and we also receive, or Marubeni is receiving an increasing number of inquiries related to potential buyers of the volumes. This is in Japan, but also interest from other markets in Asia.
Thank you.
Regarding the potential customers visiting the facility, we are having very frequent visitors coming by, latest today. We do experience quite strong interest and also physical visits to site to see the production.
Okay, moving on to the next question, also to you, Joachim. Are there any updates on entering the Japanese stock exchange?
We've previously communicated that we are looking into various alternatives for the long term, and that is one of several alternatives that we will, of course, also explore, but no decisions, and this is, again, one of possible developments for the future.
Moving on to a question for you, Ole Christian. What should we think about the operational cash flow? It's been a positive operational cash flow in the last quarters, despite no revenues, and the company is ramping operations with increasing OpEx. Should this turn negative in the coming quarters?
Yeah, that's a very good question, and, well observed, in the accounts. And of course, it seems at the outset, a little strange that the company without revenue has a positive cash flow change operationally. But the reason is, actually, in the change of other receivables. If you see, it's almost NOK 30 million, and that is fully related to VAT refunds. We get refunds from our activities in Japan a couple of months after we pay the bills. And in the first quarter, we had a very large VAT refund coming to us after a milestone payment in the fourth quarter. So that was the reason for why we have this positive operational cash flow. So that is not to be expected going forward, absolutely.
That was, in a way, a one-off situation.
Okay, thank you. What is the remaining CapEx due to be paid in the next quarters?
We have roughly NOK 25 million remaining CapEx that will be paid over the coming quarters. We remain in line with what we have previously communicated with regards to finalizing the CapEx.
Thank you. We have a couple of sales-related questions for you, Joachim. The first is, when we expect the first firm sales contract to be announced?
Yeah, so like we also brought in the presentation. This is expected well before first harvest. We don't have any specific time on this. We are working on several tracks together with Marubeni, so that will have to be announced when it's in place at the right time.
Thank you. A second question, if we can say something about what additional premium on the price we expect, if we have gotten any signals.
I would say, generally speaking, we are working now, and Marubeni is working very targeted towards clients and customers who see the value of the Proximar salmon, the local produce, the freshness, and also the sustainability angle that we are emphasizing. So, I think that's the starting point. Again, we are targeting the customers with appreciation for this product, and we'll have to see what the price will be when it's closer to sales.
Thank you. Then we have no more questions, but you're always welcome to send any additional questions to Ole Christian by email. Our next scheduled communication to the market is a production update at the beginning of July, before we return with the second quarter report presentation on August 23. And all that remains from us is to wish all of you a nice day, and also wish our Norwegian viewers a happy National Day tomorrow. Goodbye.
Thank you.
Goodbye.