Norcod yet to find profit as sales hold steady
Norwegian cod farmer Norcod has reported 2022 fourth quarter sales of NOK 51.48m (£4.1m), almost the same as for Q4 2021.
The operating loss before fair value adjustment for the quarter totalled NOK 32.3m (£2.5m) The operating loss for 2022, again before fair value adjustment, was NOK 123.1m (£9.8m)
Norcod said it has been able to initiate a second harvest and that it was receiving consistently good feedback regarding product quality.
It has also reported a new generation of fry approaching the growth phase and good traction with existing customers.
The other good news, it reports, is that purchasing prices for feed stabilised during the period. The company expects that feed prices have peaked, and a slow reduction is expected in the coming periods.
“Increasing prices of fuel and power continue to present challenges to Norcod and industry in general,” it adds, however.
As previously announced, Norcod and the white fish specialist Vesterålen Havbruk agreed a partnership in 2021 for the harvesting and processing of Norcod’s main harvest volume.
Norcod says the 2022 generation, stocked at the production site Forså and Jamnungen, is expected to provide an estimated harvest volume of 11,000 tonnes (whole fish equivalent) market ready in 2023/24.
Its Oslo Stock Exchange report said the company is continuing to grow and during the quarter took on a number of highly experienced people in key areas.
The report added: “Norcod will continue to hire the right people to join our team to facilitate the growth strategy.”
The last few weeks have not been easy for the company. Last month the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries ordered Norcod to slaughter the contents of two cages in Nordland after the discovery of sexually mature fish.
