aqb-20210804x8k
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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) August 4, 2021

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    x

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 August 4, 2021, AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. issued a press release regarding its financial and corporate updates for the quarter ended June 30, 2021. 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 August 4, 2021, 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)

August 4, 2021

/s/ David A. Frank

David A. Frank

Chief Financial Officer

991 Q2 Earnings Release 20210804

Exhibit 99.1

 

Picture 2

AquaBounty Technologies Announces Financial Results

for the Quarter and Six Months Ended June 30, 2021



Successful First Harvests of GE Salmon Completed and Site Selected for First Large-Scale Farm



MAYNARD, Mass., August 4, 2021 -- AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: AQB) (“AquaBounty” or the “Company”), a land-based aquaculture company utilizing technology to enhance productivity and sustainability, has provided financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2021.



Second Quarter 2021 Highlights

·

Successfully completed the first commercial scale harvests of it genetically engineered (“GE”) Atlantic salmon from both its Indiana and Rollo Bay farm sites in June.

·

Selected Pioneer, Ohio as the location for its next large-scale farm with a planned annual production capacity of 10,000 metric tons. Construction is slated to begin within the next six months and the Company anticipates commercial grow-out to commence in 2023.

·

Announced the regulatory approval of the Company’s GE Atlantic salmon by Brazil’s National Biosafety Technical Commission (CTNBio).

·

Elected Gail Sharps Myers—EVP, Chief Legal Officer, Chief People Officer and Corporate Secretary for Denny’s Corporation—to AquaBounty’s Board of Directors at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting.

·

Appointed Melissa Daley as the Company’s Chief People Officer.



Management Commentary

“The second quarter of 2021 was marked by two significant operational milestones for the Company, including the first commercial harvests and sales of our GE salmon from both our Indiana and Rollo Bay farm sites, and the selection of Pioneer, Ohio as the site location for our large-scale farm,” said Sylvia Wulf, Chief Executive Officer of AquaBounty. “Our next farm will have approximately eight times the planned capacity of our Indiana location. We will continue to provide updates as we gain more specificity on the timelines for permitting and construction, with the commencement of grow-out targeted in 2023.



“In both Indiana and Rollo Bay, our first commercial harvests have been a resounding success, with orders in place for the entire output from our customers who are now introducing the salmon in their markets. We have experienced challenges with the availability of personnel and the age of the technology at our Indiana farm, however we are addressing these issues and incorporating insights gained into the design of our large-scale farm. We will continue to ramp up our harvest schedule over the remainder of this year to each farm’s full capacity to meet growing demand. With the food service industry quickly regaining momentum toward pre-pandemic activity and with restaurants reopening nationally, we remain very optimistic for the demand for our fish.



“We also continue to move forward in our international expansion. After extensive field trials in Brazil, our regulatory application for the sale and consumption of our GE salmon was approved by CTNBio, moving us closer to new market opportunities in South America. We are also actively progressing on potential opportunities in Israel and China.”



“Looking ahead, the next-evolution of land-based salmon farming for AquaBounty is upon us and we are ready to scale to meet the demand with our current and planned facilities. I look forward to sharing additional developments and progress in the months ahead with our shareholders and customers,” concluded Wulf.


 



Financial Summary through June 30, 2021

·

Revenue for the first six months of 2021 was $302 thousand, compared to $10 thousand in the same period of the prior year. Harvests began during June and are ramping steadily.

·

Operating expenses for the first six months of 2021 were $9.6 million, compared to $6.6 million in the same period of the prior year. The increase reflects the growth in biomass, headcount and production expenses at the farms, as well as increases in corporate and marketing expenses.

·

Net loss for the first six months of 2021 was $9.4 million, compared to $6.6 million in the same period of the prior year.

·

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $204.0 million as of June 30, 2021, compared with $95.8 million as of December 31, 2020.



About AquaBounty

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQB) is a leader in aquaculture leveraging decades of technology expertise to deliver game changing solutions that solve global problems, while improving efficiency, sustainability and profitability. 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. The Company’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 other contaminants and provides a solution resulting in a reduced carbon footprint and no 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 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 release are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the location and anticipated capacity of our planned farm in Ohio, the timing of the commencement of construction and the beginning of commercial production, the expected demand for our products, our harvesting schedule, purchase orders, commitments and prospective agreements with customers; international expansion and the anticipated growth in market size and geographies. Forward-looking statements may be identified with words such as “will,” “may,” “can,” “expect,” “plan,” “slate,” “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.



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



Investor Relations:
Greg Falesnik or Luke Zimmerman
MZ Group - MZ North America
(949) 259-4987
AQB@mzgroup.us




 

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)





 

 

 

 

 



As of



June 30,

 

December 31,



2021

 

2020

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

132,345,351 

 

$

95,751,160 

Marketable securities

 

71,693,675 

 

 

 —

Inventory

 

2,655,098 

 

 

1,525,377 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

1,285,168 

 

 

405,370 

Total current assets

 

207,979,292 

 

 

97,681,907 



 

 

 

 

 

Property, plant and equipment, net

 

29,159,517 

 

 

26,930,338 

Right of use assets, net

 

313,318 

 

 

341,997 

Intangible assets, net

 

238,694 

 

 

245,546 

Restricted cash

 

500,000 

 

 

500,000 

Other assets

 

81,629 

 

 

76,715 

Total assets

$

238,272,450 

 

$

125,776,503 



 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities and stockholders' equity

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

$

1,980,365 

 

$

1,760,103 

Other current liabilities

 

63,902 

 

 

62,483 

Current debt, net

 

501,553 

 

 

259,939 

Total current liabilities

 

2,545,820 

 

 

2,082,525 



 

 

 

 

 

Long-term lease obligations

 

257,826 

 

 

290,327 

Long-term debt, net

 

8,766,986 

 

 

8,528,490 

Total liabilities

 

11,570,632 

 

 

10,901,342 



 

 

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Stockholders' equity:

 

 

 

 

 

Common stock, $0.001 par value, 80,000,000 shares authorized;

 

 

 

 

 

71,025,738 and 55,497,133 shares outstanding as of June 30, 2021 and December 31,2020, respectively

 

71,026 

 

 

55,497 

Additional paid-in capital

 

384,674,939 

 

 

263,629,116 

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

 

(112,325)

 

 

(267,258)

Accumulated deficit

 

(157,931,822)

 

 

(148,542,194)

Total stockholders' equity

 

226,701,818 

 

 

114,875,161 



 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$

238,272,450 

 

$

125,776,503 




 

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

(Unaudited)







 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Three Months Ended June 30,

 

Six Months Ended June 30,



2021

 

2020

 

2021

 

2020

Revenues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product revenues

$

227,393 

 

$

2,950 

 

$

301,765 

 

$

9,703 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Costs and expenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product costs

 

1,847,596 

 

 

1,041,316 

 

 

3,402,251 

 

 

1,882,750 

Sales and marketing

 

548,881 

 

 

137,434 

 

 

867,516 

 

 

188,222 

Research and development

 

431,373 

 

 

635,655 

 

 

931,993 

 

 

1,204,417 

General and administrative

 

2,578,958 

 

 

1,693,544 

 

 

4,364,468 

 

 

3,330,734 

Total costs and expenses

 

5,406,808 

 

 

3,507,949 

 

 

9,566,228 

 

 

6,606,123 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating loss

 

(5,179,415)

 

 

(3,504,999)

 

 

(9,264,463)

 

 

(6,596,420)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other income (expense)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest expense

 

(80,210)

 

 

(18,147)

 

 

(159,014)

 

 

(35,192)

Other income (expense), net

 

28,888 

 

 

(538)

 

 

33,849 

 

 

(1,690)

Total other income (expense)

 

(51,322)

 

 

(18,685)

 

 

(125,165)

 

 

(36,882)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

$

(5,230,737)

 

$

(3,523,684)

 

$

(9,389,628)

 

$

(6,633,302)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other comprehensive income (loss):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Foreign currency

 

65,924 

 

 

165,501 

 

 

145,963 

 

 

(216,484)

Unrealized gains

 

8,970 

 

 

 —

 

 

8,970 

 

 

 —

Total other comprehensive income (loss)

 

74,894 

 

 

165,501 

 

 

154,933 

 

 

(216,484)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss

$

(5,155,843)

 

$

(3,358,183)

 

$

(9,234,695)

 

$

(6,849,786)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted net loss per share

$

(0.07)

 

$

(0.11)

 

$

(0.14)

 

$

(0.22)

Weighted average number of common shares -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

basic and diluted

 

71,021,141 

 

 

32,097,992 

 

 

67,803,904 

 

 

29,607,373 




 

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)







 

 

 

 

 



Six Months Ended June 30,



2021

 

2020

Operating activities

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

$

(9,389,628)

 

$

(6,633,302)

Adjustment to reconcile net loss to net cash used in

 

 

 

 

 

operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

857,842 

 

 

701,593 

Share-based compensation

 

217,069 

 

 

309,244 

Other non-cash charge

 

8,565 

 

 

40,600 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

Inventory

 

(1,122,422)

 

 

(1,261,930)

Prepaid expenses and other assets

 

(876,139)

 

 

(409,635)

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

 

(153,120)

 

 

280,142 

Net cash used in operating activities

 

(10,457,833)

 

 

(6,973,288)



 

 

 

 

 

Investing activities

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase of property, plant and equipment

 

(2,437,911)

 

 

(1,588,497)

Proceeds from sale of asset held for sale

 

 —

 

 

98,000 

Purchases of marketable securities

 

(71,702,645)

 

 

 —

Proceeds from legal settlement, net

 

 —

 

 

1,014,008 

Other investing activities

 

(11,010)

 

 

(12,460)

Net cash used in investing activities

 

(74,151,566)

 

 

(488,949)



 

 

 

 

 

Financing activities

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from issuance of debt

 

406,378 

 

 

221,130 

Repayment of term debt

 

(79,600)

 

 

(41,262)

Proceeds from the issuance of common stock, net

 

119,120,437 

 

 

14,521,704 

Proceeds from the exercise of stock options and warrants

 

1,723,846 

 

 

 —

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

121,171,061 

 

 

14,701,572 



 

 

 

 

 

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

 

32,529 

 

 

(16,685)

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

 

36,594,191 

 

 

7,222,650 

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period

 

96,251,160 

 

 

2,798,744 

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period

$

132,845,351 

 

$

10,021,394 



 

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported

 

 

 

 

 

in the consolidated balance sheet:

 

 

 

 

 

  Cash and cash equivalents

$

132,345,351 

 

$

10,021,394 

  Restricted cash

 

500,000 

 

 

 —

  Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

$

132,845,351 

 

$

10,021,394 



 

 

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information and

 

 

 

 

 

non-cash transactions:

 

 

 

 

 

  Interest paid in cash

$

149,533 

 

$

17,058 

  Property and equipment included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities

$

388,495 

 

$

238,235