Proximar seeking extra £12m due to cost inflation
Proximar Seafoods, the company behind the Mount Fuji RAS salmon farm project in Japan, has said it needs to raise more money due to rising construction costs. It is looking for an extra NOK 165 million (around £12m).
Proximar said the project’s total capital expenditure (capex) has been updated to NOK 1,240 million (£92m), up from NOK 1,195m (£88m) in the second quarter.
The company, which has a 5,300 tonne first phase target, secured an 8.8 billion Yen (£55m) “blue” facility loan earlier this year for the RAS farm, which is located near Oyama.
CEO Joachim Nielsen said: “This is an increase of 17% from the start of construction two and a half years ago (excluding currency effects). Increases in operating cost drivers, financing and capex require the company to raise additional funds, a total of NOK 165 million.
“Proximar is evaluating several options for how to fund the additional capital need, seeking an optimal capital structure including debt, both in Norway and Japan throughout the coming months. The company will seek a solution together with the largest shareholders and has indications of several alternatives covering the majority of the capital need.
“We remain on track with our plan of first harvest in Q3 2024, and I am very pleased to see that the fish is growing steadily. “
“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.”
The CEO added: “We are excited to take another important step towards our first harvest, with our Atlantic salmon increasing in size. The biological growth is ahead of expectations, and we are on schedule for the transfer of fish to the important next phase in the grow-out building.”
