Hello and good morning, everyone, and welcome to the presentation of the third quarter 2025 for Proximar Seafood. The presentation will be given by our CEO, Joachim Nielsen in Japan, and myself, Ole Christian Willumsen, CFO here in Norway. We will, as usual, start by addressing the main highlights of the quarter before updating you on the operational development. We will then assess the market and pricing, followed by going through the financial summary, including the implications of the executed refinancing plan. Finally, we will go through the outlook before summing up. Without further ado, I'd like to hand you over to Joachim in Japan.
Thank you, Ole Christian, and good morning. To summarize the third quarter, despite disappointing harvest weights, we continued to harvest on a weekly basis. Through the quarter, we harvested 356 tons HOG, of which 99.2% was superior grade. Unfortunately, the average harvest size continues to be low, reaching 2.3 kg HOG average for the quarter. We also continue to see a wider distribution in sizes, as has been described in previous updates, and our efforts are now to increase harvest size and optimize the production going forward. The average price achievement is impacted, as in previous quarters, by a large number of fish being below market-sized fish, which means below 3 kg HOG. However, for market-sized fish, the price achievement was NOK 97 per kilogram, demonstrating the price robustness in the Japanese market, compared to NOK 69 per kilogram average export price from Norway for the same period.
On average, our price achievement was NOK 67 per kilogram net to Proximar, which is in line with the export prices seen from the Norwegian market. The demand for our fish is strong, and we are making all efforts to supply steady volumes from 2026. We continue to see demand from other Asian markets as well, so it's really a matter now for us to provide stable supply. Looking at the biology, the survival continues to be high, above 99% on the total level for the grow-out, and fish health remains good across all batches. We had no material incidents in the quarter, and most of the mortality is related to fish transfers. Towards the end of the quarter, we could also finally see that growth is back to our production plan, which has continued through October and into November.
It is very encouraging to see that we continue to produce high-quality fish, demonstrating the functionality of the facility. We have now produced and delivered more than 1,200 tons HOG to the market. Comparing to our initial expectations, the volumes are much lower than expected, primarily due to biofilter incidents and consequently reduced feeding over a longer time. However, 1,200 tons HOG is still a significant volume and a confirmation that the facility can produce high-quality Atlantic salmon. It is therefore very promising to see that the growth rates are now finally picking up, and performance has improved significantly in that regard. On the financing side, we completed the RISE issue and conversion of a large part of the outstanding convertible bond to equity, strengthening our balance sheet and lowering financing costs going forward.
We also extended the syndicated bank loan with 12 months, and in parallel, we've also made good progress to secure adequate working capital going forward. Ole Christian will explain a bit more of the details later in the presentation today. Our top priority now is to build biomass to reach our standing biomass target of around 2,000 tons. As mentioned, we now see good growth performance, and we're therefore aiming to reach our target by the end of this year. Now it's all about feeding and growth to regain the prolonged period of reduced feeding, which is still impacting our average weight achievement. By the end of the third quarter, the standing biomass stood at just below 1,400 tons divided into 21 batches.
This means that in terms of number of fish we are on plan, we continue to insert eggs on a monthly basis and continue to do so with an overage to have adequate buffer going forward. In addition, we started culling this year as planned to optimize production and expect to see results of this as we now move into 2026. During the quarter, we harvested 356 tons HOG, a record so far, but still behind our previous plan. Through the quarter, we have also held fish back, reducing harvesting volumes as much as possible to prioritize growth. Our plan is to continue doing so in the coming months as well, but from January and onwards, we would be harvesting steady volumes. The capacity will then also be the constraint in terms of flexibility for the future.
During the quarter, we had several issues impacting feeding volumes, which in turn did not enable us to achieve the planned growth, and all efforts have been spent to improve these. We started the quarter with all modules back in operation, but unfortunately, due to a combination of different issues, we could not reach our targeted feeding volumes. In July, we had extensive fish transfer as we moved fish into the last module, which was finally repaired and operational in the end of June. All transfer requires starvation of some fish some days prior to transfer, and this impacts growth in the first weeks of July. We also had some issues related to the feeding system and feed distribution, resulting in unstable feeding and feed spill. On top of that, we had a heat wave in Japan, experiencing the highest temperatures since starting measurements in 1898.
Usually, the summer months are rainy. However, this summer, in addition to high temperatures, we experienced sunshine hours substantially above normal, which in combination impacted our cooling capacity. We therefore made comprehensive efforts continuously to improve farming conditions, both short-term and long-term, and addressing the issues with necessary solutions. I'm pleased to say that the feeding system and distribution is now working according to expectations. The feed spill has been significantly reduced, and we've also secured long-term lease of extra chillers, which will remain on site and be connected as backup through next summer and potentially longer. In addition to this, we made several other adjustments on the technical side and in operations with clear positive results. We have since the end of September through October and into November seen good biomass development and growth, and we're now feeding according to plan.
As shown in this graph, October illustrates the positive results in terms of biomass growth, with a gross biomass growth of around 380 tons. Our standing biomass is shown in the red columns, and at the end of October, we were close to 1,600 tons and showing a significant uptick since September. The blue columns show harvested volumes in live fish weights. Entering into November, we continue to see good growth performance, and we're aiming to reach our standing biomass target within the end of this year of around 2,000 tons. This is important for us to reach the standing biomass target to get steady and stable production and harvesting, which is also a reason why we in November and December plan to reduce harvest as much as possible.
This means that we will push more fish into 2026, but this again will contribute to getting above 3 kg HOG in harvest size and also contribute to higher volumes and better price achievement. When it comes to the market conditions in Japan, we remain optimistic. The way we see it, and perhaps also confirmed in the recent months following the low price environment for Atlantic salmon in the global markets, the price levels in Japan remain attractive. Prices have stayed above NOK 100 per kilogram, with the exception of August, which was also a month where we saw the lowest export price from Norway at NOK 64 per kilogram. The Japanese price levels, also during a depressed pricing environment, illustrate clearly the strong advantage of Proximar as a local producer in Japan. We believe this demonstrates our competitive advantage and proves the strength in our business model.
The implied import cost on the graph on the lower right shows the rather stable cost level related to cost of import of Atlantic salmon from Norway. Lately, we've also seen the prices picking up, and we expect this trend to continue, also supported by the forward prices and market fundamentals. When it comes to consumption of Atlantic salmon here in Japan, we continue to see the market recovering from last year. Following a sharp increase and very high prices in 2023 and 2024, we saw a softening in the demand. However, as prices have reverted to more normalized levels, demand has equally increased. In the long term, we see positive fundamentals when it comes to future consumption growth of Atlantic salmon in Japan as the product continues to gain popularity, certainly amongst the younger generations.
As I mentioned in the beginning, the demand for Fuji Atlantic salmon is high, and the interest for Proximar remains. We also see land-based becoming a focus on the national level, and we're proud to take the lead as the largest land-based farmer in Japan and the only farmer producing Atlantic salmon. We're well ahead of competitors, which translates to strong interest for what we're doing. We continue to see strong interest from customers, industrial players, authorities, etc., not only in Japan but also from abroad. We continue to receive inquiries on stage two opportunities in Japan, but also from other markets in Asia. As we've said before, our main priority now is to get stage one up and running smoothly, but we do see attractive opportunities looking into the future. I will now hand it over to Ole Christian to go through the financials.
Thank you, Joachim. Let me start by saying that there have been a lot of subsequent events this time as the thoroughly communicated refinancing process was executed into the month of October. I will come back to this after having gone through the main Q3 numbers. Let's then move over to the figures and start with the P&L. We had sales of about NOK 24 million and insurance payouts from the biofilter repairs and the mortality reported in May of a total of NOK 16.4 million, yielding NOK 40.4 million in revenue and other income in the quarter. This compares to NOK 0.1 million for the same period last year. We report an EBITDA in the quarter of NOK -7.3 million.
Adjusting for the insurance payouts and the net fair value calculation, we had an Adjusted EBITDA of NOK -19.1 million in the third quarter, meaning that the Reported EBITDA is better than the adjusted one for this quarter. The main reason for that is the one-off insurance payouts that I mentioned. The net financials were NOK -32.3 million, and we are then in total reporting a loss of NOK 58.4 million before tax for the quarter. The result for the same quarter last year was NOK -23.7 million. Moving over to the balance sheet, we held total assets of approximately NOK 1.5 billion, where 89% were non-current, mainly represented through the value of our land, buildings, machinery, and equipment. The inventory and biological assets stood at NOK 136 million at the end of September.
Moving over to the passiva side, the equity was close to NOK 144 million, whilst the total debt was about NOK 1.35 billion. This is obviously a weak balance sheet this quarter. However, as mentioned, these figures are all before the execution of the refinancing process. Let's therefore move over to looking at the situation after the refinancing. We have executed what was communicated July 9th, and I'd like to take you through five points of the comprehensive plan, which has supported the liquidity situation and strengthened the just mentioned weak balance sheet. Firstly, strengthening the equity by NOK 150 million through the rights issue. Secondly, conversions in the convertible bond of approximately NOK 200 million, increasing the equity and decreasing the debt by this amount, meaning we get a double positive effect on the debt-equity ratio.
Thirdly, amendments to the remainder of the convertible bond, which is now approximately NOK 65 million, where the maturity date is pushed into 2027 and the interest rates are reduced from 7% to 5% per annum. Fourthly, agreements were reached for some of the company's debt with initial maturities in 2025, where the syndicated loan is extended until August 2026 and the shareholder loan until October 2027. Finally, ongoing process to extend the JAML loan, which matures in December 2025 at approximately NOK 50 million. In sum, the relative ratio between equity and debt will be improved by approximately NOK 550 million through the refinancing process, and this will then be included in the Q4 2025 figures. I will now hand it back to Joachim for the outlook, followed by the overall summary of this presentation.
Thank you, Ole Christian.
Looking forward, we are now doing our utmost to get back to market-sized fish, contributing to higher volumes and better price achievement. Following a thorough review of our production plan, we're now planning to push as much as possible on the timing of harvest, as mentioned earlier in the presentation. This means that we expect to reduce the number of fish to be harvested in the fourth quarter this year, pushing the fish into 2026. The plan changes are related to timing of harvest, and based on our current plan, we will also consider pushing some fish from 2026 into 2027, this taking market considerations and volumes into account. We are therefore aiming to push 350,000 fish, which was initially planned for harvest in 2025, into 2026. Furthermore, to avoid too much fish in late 2026, we're also considering to push approximately 100,000 fish into 2027.
This is fish which is expected to be ready for harvest in December 2026, but for market and sales reasons, we consider pushing into January 2027. The plan measures is the best and quickest way for us to get back to the original plan, bringing average harvest sizes above 3 kg HOG, and we are expecting above 3.5 kg HOG average harvest size for 2026. As we now see good performance and have capacity, we believe this is the best way for us to optimize. The flexibility in the rights plan is limited to available capacity in the system and working capital. When it comes to the required working capital to do the planned adjustments, I'm pleased to say that we have made good progress and expect to secure the financial flexibility to adjust as planned.
Wrapping up this quarterly presentation, we are well positioned for 2026 as we now see good performance in the system and biology. 2025 has been impacted by several challenges, mainly the biofilter incidents as a major setback. Having said that, the main challenge and reason for us being behind has been feeding restriction, which has directly impacted growth. The system continues to function well, and the growth has improved significantly after comprehensive efforts in the last couple of months. The fish health remains good, and survival rate is high, demonstrating good conditions. Now that feeding is back on track, we expect growth to materialize as we have seen in the recent weeks and months.
With the planned optimization on harvest schedule, we are aiming for 2026 to be a year of normal operation and production, bringing up harvest sizes to above 3 kg HOG and consequently driving up average price achievement. Higher volume and better price achievement should also contribute to positive financial results. With the strengthened balance sheet, we will continue our efforts on refinancing for a more long-term debt structure. We are pleased to see the strong interest for Proximar remains, being a first mover and contributing to local set sufficiency. This is also a strong motivation for our team. Finally, our CFO, Ole Christian, has decided to leave us after the end of January, and I would like to express my gratitude for his dedication and contribution over the last years.
Ole Christian is currently the only employee left in Norway, as all other functions have now been transferred to Japan. With a new CFO joining the team in Japan in December, this completes the transition of all functions and is a natural development as all our activities mainly take place here in Japan. With those final remarks, I want to thank you for your attention today, and we will now open up for questions.
Okay, we are ready to move into the Q&A sessions where we have already received some questions. These are in Norwegian, so I will try to just translate as we go. Joachim, Proximar Seafood has earlier signalized different cost levels per kilo. What is the cost level at this stage, and what are you expected to be when the facility is producing its full capacity?
Yes, we have recently not given any update on these expectations. The last was done in conjunction with our fourth quarter update 2024, where we forecasted an EBIT cost of NOK 68 per kilogram at 5,300 tons capacity of full utilization. We've not come with any updated information after that point, and this is something we'll come back to later when we have more experience and also have seen the growth progressing. There are no dramatic changes to the operations or cost side as we see it.
Okay, then there is a second question related to harvesting. Why is Proximar selling fish at a lower harvesting weight when this is giving lower earnings per kilo?
Yeah, so this has been a combination of several reasons. First of all, we have been planning long term, and we're expecting the growth to come up quicker than we've seen.
We have also long-term agreements with supplying fish to customers, so that's part of the reason. On the other hand, we have also continued to harvest fish to free up capacity so that we now can hold back fish and get growth in the coming months before we start harvesting on a regular basis again. It is also about capacity and freeing up capacity in the system.
Yes, then there is a question about stage two. When do we plan to stage two, and are there any updates on that timing?
No, we've said for a long time that our focus is stage one to get this up and running smoothly, and then we will also, of course, look into how to build the company further. As I said today, we have some incoming inquiries. We see opportunities, but we don't plan any start of construction in the near future.
As I said, we want to get the first facility up and running. That would also facilitate financing for stage two and avoid dilution to the shareholders for that matter. For us, it's more to plan and start working on some opportunities, but we don't see any CapEx for that before we are up and running a steady state and have more financing and more attractive financing alternatives at hand.
Yes,
but these are long-term. These are processes that take a lot of time from we start planning to we start executing on the construction. We need to work also to consider alternatives, but again, no near-term CapEx.
Yes, then there are two more questions. One is regarding the working capital that was mentioned in the report. Is there required additional finance in line with previous communicated levels?
There will be some extra financing requirements due to the pushing of harvest as we see now. No other material changes apart from that. This is again linked to access of working capital versus how much we can push on the production. One is the working capital, but also for the capacity, of course. We are working on solutions here which would give us the adequate capital to make the optimized changes that we're aiming for.
Yes, and then the final, sorry, the final question is about when we expect to have a positive EBITDA and when do we expect to reach full production capacity of 5,300 tons per year.
We will get back when it comes to the positive EBITDA guidance. We see that when we get into stable operations, we should also start generating returns. We see good price achievement.
If we can get the volumes up, that would be really the key now. That is why we are also focusing on this going forward. When it comes to the production capacity, we are aiming to target full utilization of the system in 2027 still, but that means in terms of standing biomass and not necessarily the harvest on an annual basis of 5,200 tons in 2027, but that would likely be 2028.
Yes, that was the end of the questions. I think we can end our presentation here and wish you all a very good Friday. Our next communication to the market will be the updated production report of the fourth quarter in the beginning of January. We will report the fourth quarter and full year 2025 at the end of February next year.
Have a good day, everybody, and thank you for attending.
Thank you.