Add Lerøy Seafood Group to the list of European seafood companies that have turned in impressive fourth-quarter and year-end results.
The Norwegian company on Wednesday posted a turnover of NOK 2.57 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from NOK 2.18 billion during the same period in 2009. Its operating profit before fair value adjustment of biomass reached NOK 539.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to NOK 311.4 million in 2009.
“The board of directors is very satisfied with the group’s development and with the result achieved for the period, which is the highest result achieved in the history of the group to date,” said Lerøy.
In all of 2010, Lerøy recorded a turnover of NOK 8.89 billion, up from NOK 7.47 billion in 2009. The company’s operating profit before fair value adjustment of biomass totaled NOK 1.59 billion last year, compared with NOK 950.2 million the previous year.
As for production, Lerøy churned out 116,800 metric tons of salmon and trout (gutted weight) in 2010, up 7.7 percent from 2009. Lerøy is the world’s second-largest salmon and trout producer, behind Marine Harvest.
And Lerøy’s first-quarter results are looking up: “The board of directors currently anticipates a better result for the group in the first quarter of 2011 than was achieved in the first quarter of 2010, and correspondingly for 2011 as a whole.”
