Bergen, Norway-headquartered salmon-farming firm Mowi ended the first quarter of 2026 with record seasonal revenues of EUR 1.54 billion (USD 1.8 billion) and a near-record operational profit of EUR 220.8 million (USD 258.5 million), which were both up, respectively, from the EUR 1.36 billion (USD 1.6 billion) and EUR 214 million (USD 250.5 million) recorded in the corresponding period of last year.
Delivering Mowi’s results for the period, CEO Ivan Vindheim said the increases followed a record Q1 harvest volume of 136,477 gutted weight tons (GWT), marking a “whopping” 26 percent increase year over year and slightly ahead of guidance for the period. Meanwhile, farming costs averaged EUR 5.46 (USD 6.39) per kilogram across its seven farming countries, which were down 7.3 percent year over year.
While the period was largely positive, Vindheim said these gains were partially offset by lower prices.
He explained the period was characterized by high industry supply growth of 14 percent after “very good growth in the water” in 2025 that carried into the first part of this year.
“An industry supply growth of 14 percent is, of course, much more than any market can handle in the short term without it showing up in prices,” Vindheim said.
The toll that high supply took on prices was especially prevalent in the beginning of the quarter, but an upswing came toward the end of the period thanks to Easter demand, he explained.
Citing seafood market research agency Kontali, Vindheim said supply growth has now “normalized after an unprecedented year” and is expected to remain flat for the rest of 2026, hitting around 1 percent next year.
“This should, under normal circumstances, pave the way for a tighter market balance going forward,” Vindheim said.
According to the firm’s Q1 report, Mowi Norway harvested 75,559 gutted weight tons (GWT) of salmon in the three-month period, which was up from 61,703 GWT in Q1 2025.
Operations in Chile contributed 20,978 GWT (up from 13,936 GWT), Scotland contributed 20,570 GWT (up from 17,656 GWT), Canada harvested 8,205 GWT (up from 4,996 GWT), Iceland, via Mowi’s Arctic Fish venture, harvested 6,029 GWT (up from 3,140 GWT), the Faroe Islands contributed 3,075 GWT (down from 4,224 GWT), and Ireland harvested 2,061 GWT (down from 2,408 GWT).
With earnings down on weaker contracts, the group’s value-added processing business, Mowi Consumer Products, reported operational EBIT of EUR 19.7 million (USD 23.1 million), which was down from EUR 33.2 million (USD 38.9 million) in Q1 2025. Its operating revenues increased by EUR 93.1 million (USD 109 million) to EUR 986.4 million (USD 1.2 billion), with 69,635 metric tons (MT) of products sold by the division in the quarter, compared to 57,564 MT previously.
“We continue to see good demand for our products, underpinned by the seasonally high sold volumes of 70,000 MT product weight, which is up by as much as 21 percent year over year,” Vindheim said.
Mowi Feed, meanwhile, saw its sales slip slightly to 108,892 MT, while its operational EBIT fell EUR 900,000 (USD 1.1 million) to EUR 2.2 million (USD 2.6 million). Its revenues for the period totaled EUR 185.2 million (USD 216.8 million).
“The expansion of [our] feed factory in Norway is finished, which will provide the basis for further organic growth in this part of the value chain,” Vindheim said. “This year, we aim to produce and sell 650,000 MT of feed, which [would be] up by as much as 11 percent year over year.”
He also confirmed that Mowi’s partnership with feed producer Skretting is “progressing well” and should lead to a targeted EUR 55 million (USD 64.4 million) in annual savings.
Also in Q1, the group acquired Torghatten Aqua’s 4,500-GWT seawater salmon-farming business in Northern Norway, with Vindheim stating that the terms of the deal were “very attractive.”
“This will be a nice little bolt on to Mowi Norway Region North and perhaps one of the best places in the world for farming Atlantic salmon,” he said.
As part of the deal, Mowi will pay a quarterly dividend of NOK 2.30 (USD 0.25, EUR 0.21) per share.
Supported by strong biology and a record-high biomass in the sea, Mowi expects to harvest 605,000 GWT this year, which would represent annualized growth of 8.3 percent. Its longer-term 2029 target volume is 650,000 GWT, which it aims to achieve through increased smolt stocking and post-smolt, as well as using its currently underutilized license capacity.
