Nordic Halibut on track despite Q3 losses

Nordic Halibut’s plans for a new 9,000 tonnes land-based facility are still on track, but the company is not making a profit yet, its 2021 third quarter results show.

The company announced an operating deficit of NOK 9.7m (£832,248) compared to NOK 3.3m (£283,170) this time last year.

Pre-tax losses were NOK 10.5m (£900,930) compared to NOK 4.4m (£377,530) in Q3 2020, but operating revenues or sales have more than doubled from NOK 7.3m (£626,290) a year ago, emerging at NOK 16.1m (£1.38m) this quarter.

The harvest volume, heads on gutted, for the quarter is also considerably higher at 135 tonnes, compared to 68 tonnes in the same period last year.

Later it was announced that Nordic Halibut has entered into a term sheet NOK 100m (£8.58m) overdraft agreement with an unnamed Norwegian bank on attractive terms.

The company says it is expecting a total harvest volume for the full year of around 540 tonnes. Its forward target is 4,500 tonnes by 2026 and 9,000 tonnes by the end of the decade.

Nordic Halibut is also reporting rising demand for its fish along with a strong biological performance.

Investment in a third sea site and at the on-growing site at Averoy are progressing according to plan, says the report.

It was earlier this year that Nordic Halibut signed an agreement with a number of landowners for a new facility in the More and Romsdal region enabling it to ramp up production to 9,000 tonnes a year.

This move, says the company, was important in that it significantly takes the risk out of future production cycles by spreading output across a number of locations.

The new facility will be divided into three 1,500 square metre units.

Nordic Halibut farm site, Tingvoll