ASX-listed aquaculture company Seafarms Group has launched a second review of its prawn farm after an original assessment recommended the project should not proceed.
ASX-listed aquaculture company Seafarms Group has launched a second review of its prawn farm after an original assessment recommended the project should not proceed.
Seafarms’ Project Sea Dragon is a proposed, large scale prawn agriculture project in northern Australia designed to produce reliable prawn volumes for export markets.
The group first announced a review of the project in November 2021 after it could not secure funding.
The review recommended the project should not proceed in its current form because it would not generate acceptable financial returns.
It said the viability of the project was almost entirely dependent on farming out-performance against existing operations and competitors because nearly all other economic factors suggested it was not feasible.
However, Seafarms chief executive Rod Dyer told the ASX today that the company still believed in the future of the project and would re-examine the matters raised in the March review in a new assessment of the development.
Mr Dyer said it would engage independent consultants to provide advice on key project risks; visits to large scale prawn farms, hatcheries and packing plants in central America; engagement with stakeholders; and rebasing of cost structures and financial management for the project.
“While the final decision is dependent on the outcome of our current assessment process, we believe the project has a future and as the new board and executive, we are looking to manage the risks from the project, maximise the interests of shareholders and work closely with our key stakeholders,” Mr Dyer said.
Mr Dyer became chief executive of the group in May, following Mick Mahon’s decision to step down from the board two weeks after a major shareholder sought to have him removed.
Today’s news of the review excited shareholders, with shares in Seafarms Group up 8.33 per cent to 1.3 cents each when the market closed this afternoon.
The review will be completed in the December quarter.
