Chilean salmon-farming and industrial fishing firm Blumar saw its profits for the first quarter of 2026 sink 44 percent as a solid fishing season could not offset weak performance in the company’s salmon-farming arm.
Blumar’s net profits for the quarter came in at USD 15.6 million (EUR 13.5 million), compared to USD 28 million (EUR 24.3 million) posted in the first three months of 2025, the company reported in its recently released quarterly earnings statement.
Top-line revenues were down 8 percent year over year at USD 192 million (EUR 166 million), while cost of sales also fell 9 percent to USD 149 million (EUR 129 million), bringing the gross margin before fair value to USD 43 million (EUR 37.3 million) for Q1 2026, down 4 percent compared to USD 44.8 million (EUR 38.8 million) posted in the same quarter last year.
Likewise, EBITDA before fair value came in at USD 34.4 million (EUR 29.8 million), down 3 percent, while EBIT slipped 1 percent to USD 33.7 million (EUR 29.2 million).
Blumar said the result was largely due to a 35 percent drop in salmon sales year over year to USD 91.5 million (EUR 79.3 million), compared to USD 142 million (EUR 123 million) in the year-ago quarter.
The drop in sales value coincided with a 37 percent drop in Q1 harvest volume. During the period, Blumar’s operations in the Aysén region of Chile suffered algal blooms, which also affected production costs.
Meanwhile, the sales price of its Atlantic salmon was down 8 percent year over year to USD 6.63 (EUR 5.75) per kilogram whole fish equivalent (WFE), compared to prices of USD 7.23 (EUR 6.27) per kilogram WFE in Q1 2025, which the company attributed to greater global salmon supply and U.S. tariffs.
The company’s fishing division fared much better during the quarter.
Blumar’s sales of frozen jack mackerel climbed 74 percent to USD 55.8 million (EUR 48.4 million), while fishmeal and fish oil sales were up 43 percent to USD 118 million (EUR 102 million). Whitefish and other sales were up 5 percent to USD 15.5 million (EUR 13.4 million).
Blumar warned, however, that its fishing operations may soon suffer from the effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon, especially the so-called “Coastal El Niño.” The event has made sea surface temperatures rise, which as of mid-February, has altered the normal migration pattern of the jack mackerel as adults shifted to cooler waters, while juvenile fish became abundant in the firm’s usual fishing grounds. As a result, in Q1, jack mackerel catch fell by 44 percent compared to the same period in 2025, the firm highlighted.
