Oslo-based Morpol ASA reported a positive EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) for 2011’s first quarter of EUR 6.2 million.
These earnings includes one-off exceptional costs related to acquisitions, totaling EUR 1.0 million, meaning the operational EBIT was EUR 7.3 million (USD 10.4 million). The EBIT in the first quarter of 2010 was EUR 5.2 million (USD 7.4 million).
Morpol’s revenues in processing were EUR 103.5 million, up from EUR 90.2 million in 2010. EBIT for processing in the first quarter 2011 was EUR 0.3 million, down from EUR 5.2 million in 2010. Despite raw material prices increasing by EUR 1 per kilogram, the company only partially offset those cost by increasing its customers’ prices.
The company reported that salmon raw material prices remained high. Purchase prices of salmon from Norway increased from the fourth quarter to the first quarter by approximately EUR 0.25 per kilogram.
"Despite the short term pressure on processing margins, we believe we have built a strong platform to return to higher operational margins when there is a better balance between supply and demand on the raw material side. We have continued to take market share in key areas such as France and UK, and we have a strong base to further expand," said CEO Jerzy Malek.
Morpol’s operating revenues in the first quarter 2011 were EUR 127.1 million, up significantly from 2010 1Q totals of EUR 90.2 million.
In the first quarter, Morpol acquired Jøkelfjord Laks AS, a Norwegian salmon farming company based in Troms. Through its subsidiary Lakeland Smolt, Morpol has invested in land and a building in Rosyth, near Edinburgh. The acquisition cost was approximately EUR 4.2 million. The facility was purchased with the intention to establish a value-added processing plant to further increase the market strength of Morpol in the UK and other markets.
