MAYNARD, Mass., March 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQB) (“AquaBounty” or the “Company”), a land-based aquaculture company utilizing technology to enhance productivity and sustainability, announces the Company’s financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Results Highlights:

Operational

• Sylvia Wulf assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director;
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) lifted its Import Alert, allowing the Company to import its AquAdvantage eggs from its hatchery in Canada to its farm in Indiana;
• The Company’s Rollo Bay farm site received two regulatory approvals: FDA approved the farm’s hatchery building, and Environment and Climate Change Canada approved the farm’s production facility for the commercial grow-out of AquAdvantage Salmon;
• The Company’s Indiana farm received two batches of AquAdvantage eggs and is now producing both conventional and AquAdvantage Salmon, bringing total biomass at the farm to 160 tons at year end;
• Closed the Panama demonstration farm;
• Received approval in China to conduct a field trial for AquAdvantage Salmon; and
• Commenced marketing and communications activities, including qualitative and quantitative consumer research in preparation for commercialization.

Financial

• Completed two public offerings of common shares, raising net funds of $12.4 million;
• The Company’s Canadian subsidiary received two construction loan instalments totalling $900 thousand from the Department of Economic Development of the Province of Prince Edward Island and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; and
• Net loss for the year increased to $13.2 million (2018: $10.4 million) with the ramp-up of production operations in Indiana and Rollo Bay, increased legal fees in support of the FDA legal challenge, and increased headcount.

Sylvia Wulf, Chief Executive Officer of AquaBounty, commented: “This was a transformative year for AquaBounty, as for the first time in the Company’s history we began to grow-out our AquAdvantage Salmon in the United States.  Production of both AquAdvantage and conventional salmon at our Indiana farm is progressing on track with conventional salmon harvest commencing in late Q2 this year and AquAdvantage Salmon harvest commencing in Q4.  We also took steps during 2019 to strengthen our balance sheet with two successful equity raises and to strengthen our management team with the additions of Dave Melbourne as Chief Commercial Officer and Angela Olsen as General Counsel.  We believe we are now well positioned to begin to execute our commercial strategy with the harvest and sale of our salmon from both our Indiana and Rollo Bay farms.”

Inquiries:

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.
Dave Conley, Corporate Communications       +1 613 294 3078

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding potential harvest size, initiation of a field trial and any related commercial operations in China, and the potential for and timing of the harvest and sale of our fish from our production farms. Forward-looking statements may be identified with words such as “will,” “may,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “upcoming,” “believe,” “estimate,” or similar terminology, and the negative of these terms. Forward-looking statements are not promises or guarantees of future performance and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements. For additional information regarding these and other risks faced by us, please refer to our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), available on the Investors section of our website at www.aquabounty.com  and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.