Bakkafrost Group delivered total operating earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of DKK 303.4 million (EUR 40.7 million; USD 46.7 million) in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 43 percent year-on-year, largely thanks to solid performances within its farming and value-added processing (VAP) segments.
Combined, the farming and VAP segments achieved an operational EBIT of DKK 279.2 million (EUR 37.4 million; USD 43 million) in the last quarter, up from DKK 180 million (EUR 24.1 million; USD 27.7 million) in Q2 2014. For the first half of this year, the combined operational EBIT of the two segments totaled DKK 496.7 million (EUR 39.8 million; USD 76.4 million), up from DKK 356.7 million (EUR 47.8 million; USD 54.9 million) in H1 2014.
The Faroe Islands-based Atlantic salmon farmer made a profit in the last quarter of DKK 191.1 million (EUR 25.6 million; USD 29.4 million), taking its profit for the first half of this year up to DKK 323.5 million (EUR 43.3 million; USD 49.8 million) from DKK 213.4 million (EUR 28.6 million; USD 32.8 million) in H1 2014.
It harvested a total volume of 14,182 metric tons (MT) gutted weight in Q2 2015, up from 11,212 MT a year previously. The total harvested volume for H1 2015 was 23,908 MT, up from 20,481 MT a year previously.
“Bakkafrost harvested over 14,000 MT in Q2 2015, which is the highest quarterly harvest ever. This together with good operational performance and positive market conditions resulted in a record-high operating EBIT in Q2 2015. Bakkafrost’s focus on the operational performance is reflected in the investment of the new wellboat, Hans á Bakka. Hans á Bakka was delivered in July and started operating in August 2015, which marks a milestone in salmon farming in the Faroe Islands,” said Regin Jacobsen, CEO of Bakkafrost.
The guidance for the total 2015 harvest remains unchanged at between 49,000 and 51,000 MT gutted weight, up from 44,013 MT last year and 41,268 MT in 2013.
Bakkafrost transferred a total of 3.6 million smolts in H1 2015, down from 4.9 million in the corresponding period of last year. It has forecast the total smolt release in 2015 will be 10.4 million.
