Atlantic Sapphire payout

The site’s book value at the time of the fire was DKK 210 million (approximately US$ 33 million at the exchange rate in September 2021) and the insurance process has identified approximately DKK 30 million worth of buildings and equipment that was undamaged by the fire.

In addition, the company has permits, a long-term land lease and a tax loss carry-forward.

With the company free to decide how the insurance proceeds are to be used, the board has decided that the settlement proceeds are to be allocated to its US operations and construction.

In the meantime, the board has said that it will continue to review the company’s strategy for its Danish operations.

In an Oslo Stock Exchange announcement, Atlantic Sapphire confirmed that its core business is expanding production in the US where it sees the highest return on investment.

It has now ensured stable operations in Florida and is in the middle of a significant expansion of the production capacity.

“The current situation in the world further emphasises the importance of short and lean value chains. In the US, the company is perfectly positioned to leverage this. The US is currently importing approximately 98% of its consumption of Atlantic salmon and the company believes there will be an increasing focus and preference for domestically produced food in the years ahead,” it stated.

Atlantic Sapphire has been operating its innovation centre in Denmark since 2011 with a strong focus on R&D and innovation to equip the company with the technology and procedures that will enable it to commercially scale up production in end markets close to the consumer. 

The company completed its first commercial harvest in Florida in September 2020. It is currently progressing its Phase 2 expansion, which will raise its total annual production capacity to 25,000 tonnes.

It has a targeted harvest volume of 220,000 tonnes by 2031.