aqb-20230504x8k
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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

__________

Form 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) May 4, 2023

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

001-36426

04-3156167

(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation)

(Commission
File Number)

(IRS Employer
Identification No.)

2 Mill & Main Place, Suite 395, Maynard, Massachusetts

(Address of principal executive offices)

01754

(Zip Code)

978-648-6000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Title of each class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of exchange on which registered

Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share

AQB

The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

o

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Emerging growth company    o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.    o



Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On May 4, 2023, AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. issued a press release regarding its financial and corporate updates for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. A copy of the press release is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information included in this Current Report on Form 8-K pursuant to Item 2.02, including Exhibit 99.1 attached hereto, is intended to be furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit No.

Description

99.1

Press release issued by AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. on May 4, 2023, furnished herewith.

104

Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).



SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.

(Registrant)

May 4, 2023

/s/ David A. Frank

David A. Frank

Chief Financial Officer

99.1 Q1 Earnings Release 20230504

Exhibit 99.1

 

Picture 2

AquaBounty Technologies Announces First Quarter 2023 Financial Results

MAYNARD, Mass., May 4, 2023 -- AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQB) (“AquaBounty” or the “Company”), a land-based aquaculture company utilizing technology to enhance productivity and sustainability, today announced the Company’s financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023.

First Quarter 2023 Highlights and Recent Developments

·

Generated $398 thousand in product revenue in the first quarter, a year-over-year decrease of 59% as compared to $963 thousand in the first quarter of 2022.

·

Net loss in the first quarter of 2023 was $6.5 million, as compared to $5.1 million in the first quarter of 2022.

·

Construction activities for the Pioneer, Ohio farm site continued to progress.

·

Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $73.8 million as of March 31, 2023, as compared to $102.6 million as of December 31, 2022.

Management Commentary

“Our first quarter results were impacted by the need to conduct planned repairs to our Indiana farm,” said Sylvia Wulf, Chief Executive Officer of AquaBounty.  The year-over-year revenue decline for the quarter was related to the scheduled downtime needed to make facility repairs.  Additionally, with the transition of our PEI grow-out facility to broodstock maintenance and egg production last August, we no longer are harvesting GE salmon from that farm. Demand for our fish continues to exceed our supply and during March the Indiana farm had its highest monthly harvest output to date.

“We continue to make progress on the construction of our new farm in Pioneer, Ohio and we encourage our investors to view the pictures and drone footage that we’ve made available on our website to document the farm’s progression.  The timing for the closing of our bond financing is still expected to be mid-year and we are closely monitoring bond interest rates, project cost estimates and the general economic environment.

“We are also moving forward in growth areas outside of GE salmon, including expansion of our conventional salmon egg and fry business and potential partnerships in conventional salmon farming outside of North America.  I look forward to providing my fellow shareholders with an update in the near future,” concluded Wulf.

About AquaBounty

At AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQB), we believe we are a leader in the field of land-based aquaculture and the use of technology for improving its productivity and sustainability.  Our objective is to ensure the availability of high-quality seafood to meet growing global consumer demand, while addressing critical production constraints in the most popular farmed species.  AquaBounty provides fresh Atlantic salmon to nearby markets by raising its fish in carefully monitored land-based fish farms through a safe, secure and sustainable process. AquaBounty’s land-based Recirculating Aquaculture System (“RAS”) farms, located in Indiana, United States and Prince Edward Island, Canada, are close to key consumption markets and are designed to prevent disease and to include multiple levels of fish containment to protect wild fish populations. AquaBounty is raising nutritious salmon that is free of antibiotics and contaminants and provides a solution with a reduced carbon footprint without the risk of pollution to marine ecosystems as compared to traditional


 

sea-cage farming. For more information on AquaBounty, please visit www.aquabounty.com or follow us on Facebook,  Twitter,  LinkedIn and Instagram.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including regarding the timing of the contemplated bond financing; timing of construction; and expansion of potential business and partnership opportunities. The forward-looking statements in this press release are neither promises nor guarantees, and you should not place undue reliance on these statements because they involve significant risks and uncertainties about AquaBounty. AquaBounty may use words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “continue,” “project,” “plan,” “moving forward,” “believe,” “will,” “may,” the negative forms of these words and similar expressions to identify such forward-looking statements. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are, among other things, the potential for delays and increased costs related to construction of our new farms and renovations to existing farms; a failure to raise additional capital to finance our activities on acceptable terms; an inability to produce and sell our products in sufficient volume and at acceptable cost and prices; any inability to protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights and technologies; the effect of changes in applicable laws, regulations and policies; our ability to secure any necessary regulatory approvals; the degree of market acceptance of our products; our failure to retain and recruit key personnel; and the price and volatility of our common stock. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, AquaBounty undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements. For information regarding the 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.

Company Contact:
AquaBounty Technologies
Dave Conley
Corporate Communications
(613) 294-3078

Media Contact:
Vince McMorrow
Fahlgren Mortine
(614) 906-1671
vince.mcmorrow@Fahlgren.com

Investor Relations:
Lucas A. Zimmerman
MZ Group - MZ North America
(949) 259-4987
AQB@mzgroup.us 



 


 

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)





















 

 

 

 

 



 

March 31,

 

 

December 31,



2023

 

2022

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

72,776,543 

 

$

101,638,557 

Inventory

 

2,376,207 

 

 

2,276,592 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

2,290,836 

 

 

2,133,583 

Total current assets

 

77,443,586 

 

 

106,048,732 



 

 

 

 

 

Property, plant and equipment, net

 

127,357,662 

 

 

106,286,186 

Right of use assets, net

 

206,734 

 

 

222,856 

Intangible assets, net

 

214,713 

 

 

218,139 

Restricted cash

 

1,000,000 

 

 

1,000,000 

Other assets

 

65,162 

 

 

64,859 

Total assets

$

206,287,857 

 

$

213,840,772 



 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities and stockholders' equity

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

$

10,836,269 

 

$

12,000,592 

Accrued employee compensation

 

704,925 

 

 

1,021,740 

Current debt

 

2,377,781 

 

 

2,387,231 

Other current liabilities

 

4,631 

 

 

20,830 

Total current liabilities

 

13,923,606 

 

 

15,430,393 



 

 

 

 

 

Long-term lease obligations

 

202,103 

 

 

203,227 

Long-term debt, net

 

6,526,105 

 

 

6,286,109 

Total liabilities

 

20,651,814 

 

 

21,919,729 



 

 

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Stockholders' equity:

 

 

 

 

 

 Common stock, $0.001 par value, 150,000,000 shares authorized at March 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

   and December 31, 2022; 71,338,938 and 71,110,713 shares outstanding at March 31,

 

 

 

 

 

   2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively

 

71,339 

 

 

71,111 

Additional paid-in capital

 

385,585,097 

 

 

385,388,684 

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

 

(512,348)

 

 

(516,775)

Accumulated deficit

 

(199,508,045)

 

 

(193,021,977)

Total stockholders' equity

 

185,636,043 

 

 

191,921,043 



 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$

206,287,857 

 

$

213,840,772 




 

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

(Unaudited)



















 

 

 

 

 



Three Months Ended
March 31,



2023

 

2022

Revenues

 

 

 

 

 

Product revenues

$

397,846 

 

$

962,881 



 

 

 

 

 

Costs and expenses

 

 

 

 

 

Product costs

 

3,559,240 

 

 

3,275,690 

Sales and marketing

 

198,285 

 

 

247,572 

Research and development

 

122,917 

 

 

167,189 

General and administrative

 

3,000,482 

 

 

2,376,236 

Total costs and expenses

 

6,880,924 

 

 

6,066,687 



 

 

 

 

 

Operating loss

 

(6,483,078)

 

 

(5,103,806)



 

 

 

 

 

Other expense

 

 

 

 

 

Interest expense

 

(66,274)

 

 

(75,288)

Other income, net

 

63,284 

 

 

67,368 

Total other expense

 

(2,990)

 

 

(7,920)



 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

$

(6,486,068)

 

$

(5,111,726)



 

 

 

 

 

Other comprehensive income (loss):

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation gain

 

4,427 

 

 

82,905 

Unrealized loss on marketable securities

 

 —

 

 

(114,065)

Total other comprehensive income (loss)

 

4,427 

 

 

(31,160)



 

 

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss

$

(6,481,641)

 

$

(5,142,886)



 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted net loss per share

$

(0.09)

 

$

(0.07)

Weighted average number of Common Shares -

 

 

 

 

 

basic and diluted

 

71,169,277 

 

 

71,004,454 




 

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)







 

 

 

 

 



Three Months Ended
March 31,



2023

 

2022

Operating activities

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

$

(6,486,068)

 

$

(5,111,726)

Adjustment to reconcile net loss to net cash used in

 

 

 

 

 

operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

531,726 

 

 

490,563 

Share-based compensation

 

196,641 

 

 

211,328 

Other non-cash charge

 

3,834 

 

 

4,251 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

Inventory

 

(99,936)

 

 

(411,794)

Prepaid expenses and other assets

 

(155,167)

 

 

(139,671)

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

 

184,232 

 

 

(6,949)

Accrued employee compensation

 

(316,815)

 

 

(362,416)

Net cash used in operating activities

 

(6,141,553)

 

 

(5,326,414)



 

 

 

 

 

Investing activities

 

 

 

 

 

Purchases of and deposits on property, plant and equipment

 

(22,931,293)

 

 

(5,762,143)

Maturities of marketable securities

 

 —

 

 

45,915,851 

Purchases of marketable securities

 

 —

 

 

(47,621,291)

Other investing activities

 

(3,959)

 

 

 —

Net cash used in investing activities

 

(22,935,252)

 

 

(7,467,583)



 

 

 

 

 

Financing activities

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from issuance of debt

 

394,156 

 

 

 —

Repayment of term debt

 

(179,392)

 

 

(159,304)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

 

214,764 

 

 

(159,304)



 

 

 

 

 

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

 

27 

 

 

8,106 

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

 

(28,862,014)

 

 

(12,945,195)

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period

 

102,638,557 

 

 

89,454,988 

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period

$

73,776,543 

 

$

76,509,793 



 

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported

 

 

 

 

 

in the consolidated balance sheet:

 

 

 

 

 

  Cash and cash equivalents

$

72,776,543 

 

$

75,509,793 

  Restricted cash

 

1,000,000 

 

 

1,000,000 

  Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

$

73,776,543 

 

$

76,509,793 



 

 

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information and non-cash transactions:

 

 

 

 

 

  Interest paid in cash

$

62,439 

 

$

71,037 

  Property and equipment included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities

$

9,216,027 

 

$

1,507,514