Scotland starting to shine again for Mowi

Mowi Scotland more than doubled its EBIT or operating profit during the first three months of this year, the international Mowi Group’s Q1 trading update shows.

The Scottish division achieved an EBIT of €2.45 per kilo (£2.15) against €1 (£0.88) a year ago – the second highest in the group. Once again Norway was the star performer with an EBIT per kilo of €3.75 (£3.31).

The Scotland harvest was 11,000 tonnes against 10,500 tonnes in Q1 2022.

On a global level Mowi achieved an operating profit of €322m (£284m), up from €207m (£183m) during the first quarter of last year.

The global slaughter volume totalled 102,500 tonnes against 98,000 tonnes last year and higher than predicted a few weeks ago. Norway harvested 65,500 tonnes, up by around 6,000 tonnes.

Mowi update said the Chilean operation made an operating profit of €1.5 per kilo (£1.32), somewhat lower than expected although higher than 12 months ago.

The Mowi Ireland harvest was, as expected, unchanged at 1,000 tonnes while the operating profit on last year was also down at €1.70 per kilo (£1.50).

As with Scotland, Mowi Ireland experienced some biological issues last year, due in part to the exceptionally hot summer.

Mowi Canada produced a reduced of harvest 7,500 tonnes and a lower EBIT of €2.15 per kilo (£1.90).

The operating profit for Consumer Products was €37m (£32m) , while for the feed business the operating profit was €6m (£5.3m).

Mowi’s full Q1 report will be published on 10 May.