Scottish Sea Farms Q2 profit jumps by £7m

Scottish Sea Farms generated an operational profit or EBIT of almost £17m (NOK 190m) during the April to June 2022 second quarter period.

This compared with an EBIT of £10.4m (NOK 119m) in the same period last year.

The figures are included in the SalMar Q2 report which, along with Leroy Seafood, owns a half share in the business.

Called Norskott Havbruk in Norway, the company earned £77.5m (NOK 884m) during the quarter against £69.5m (NOK 793m) thanks to higher salmon prices.

SalMar’s share of the profits after tax was £10.7m (NOK 122m) against £4.47m (NOK 51m) last year.

Scottish Sea Farms harvested 9,500 tonnes in the quarter, compared with 11,400 tonnes in Q2 2021.

The EBIT per kg gutted weight came to NOK 20.01 (£1.76) in the period, up from NOK 10.46 per kg in the same period last year.

A significant increase in the volume harvested to around 46,000 tonnes is expected in 2022 as a result of the former Grieg acquisition.

At a group level SalMar, which acquired the NTS group a few weeks ago, produced an operational EBIT of NOK 1,048m (£92m) or NOK 32.35 per kilo. This compared to NOK 661m (£58m) 12 months earlier.

The figure excludes costs of NOK 164m (£14m) related to the settlement of a lawsuit in the USA, in which SalMar and other major Norwegian companies were accused of price collusion. The companies strongly deny the allegations.

Linda Litlekalsøy Aase, who took over as CEO from Gustav Witzøe in May, said: “In the second quarter, our dedicated employees continued to deliver impressive results and products of excellent quality.

“Our consistent and meticulous effort to operate on the salmon’s terms and with a focus on sustainability in everything we do, has once again proven to be a recipe for success.”

She added: “Our results were of course also supported by high salmon prices in the market, although this fortunate market situation weakens the financial results in Sales and Industry due to our fixed price contracts.”

Farming in mid and northern Norway performed particularly well with strong biological and operational results, which resulted in a record high operational EBIT per kilo of NOK 58.64 and NOK 69.12 respectively.

Linda Litlekalsøy Aase, CEO SalMar