Mowi Scotland takes hit on Q1 harvest

MOWI Scotland has taken a major hit in its harvest volume for the first three months of this year in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, a trading update from the company shows.

The output at its Scottish operations is the largest in the group, down from 15,500 tonnes between January and April 2019 to just 9,000 tonnes over the same period this year. The EBIT per kg in Scotland is €0.65 this year against €2.25 in 2019.

But Mowi’s other global salmon farming activities have also been badly affected with Chile down from 20,000 tonnes to 14,000 tonnes and Norway 5,500 tonnes lower at 50,500 tonnes. The Mowi Canada harvest fell by 2,000 tonnes to 8,000 tonnes. The was no harvest from Ireland this quarter.

The total Q1 Mowi harvest is 83,000 tonnes against 104,000 tonnes in 2019. Earnings for the quarter are expected to show a drop of 45 per cent to around €107 million euros.

Mowi said :

\’In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Board of Mowi has decided to postpone the decision on first quarter dividend until second quarter. The Board considers it essential to maintain a strong financial position amid the heightened uncertainty caused by Covid-19. The situation is challenging for all and Mowi is no exception. While our operations have continued to run more or less normally so far, we are incurring more costs than usual due to extensive measures implemented internally and externally.

\’ We are monitoring the situation closely and are ready to take further measures if needed\’.
The full Q1 2020 report will be released on May 13th.