Oslo, Norway—Aker BioMarinesimultaneously shared an annual report on their trends, activities, and more, and a press release regarding a patent for the company’s Flexitech technology platform, which demonstrates Aker’s commitment to the future of the krill/omega-3 industry.

Matts Johansen, CEO of Aker, said in the report: “From a business perspective, we met our targets for 2018 with robust performance in all our segments, despite some headwinds in the market. Costs increased more than I ideally would like them to, driven both by external factors and internal elements to facilitate the rapid growth and development we are facing.”

Highlights of the annual report include:
  • Revenues increased year-over-year by 24%, from $125 million to $155 million, having sold 1.28 billion doses of Superba Krill worldwide in 2018.
  • Aker delivered a net loss of $1 million in 2018, due to significant investments in new technology, science initiatives, and people, which, according to the report, “have been critical to reach the necessary scale in order to grow the krill segment.”
  • Antarctic Endurance, a new state-of-the-art vessel, is the first krill harvesting vessel designed and constructed from scratch using the latest environmental technology. It began operations at the start of the 2019 harvesting season.
  • Aker and the Lupus Research Alliance are working on a new clinical study investigating how krill can benefit those with Lupus; results are expected in 2020.
  • Aker is supporting the Antarctic Wildlife Research Fund with $1 million over five years.
  • Johansen concluded: “2018 was truly a landmark year for us. That’s before we even mention being awarded the most innovative company prize at the European Business Awards or launching the world’s first professional long-distance sled dog team.”
The full report can be readhere.

The Flexitech patent plays into the company’s goals, including quality products and sustainability. The patent has 11 claims, covering the high-efficiency process for extracting lipids from krill, resulting in pure krill oil products.

Johansen said: “The Flexitech technology does not involve any form of high temperature treatment such as molecular distillation or the use of any solvents besides ethanol and water. It relies solely on low temperature and efficient fractionation methods, which remove unwanted salts and other polar constituents. Aker BioMarine is fully committed to the research and development behind our krill oil products, and this patent allows us to continue investing in R&D for years to come.”