Grieg Seafood ASA, a Norwegian salmon farming company, has teamed up with two other suppliers on a new NOK 300 million (USD 35.6 million, EUR 32 million) smolt production facility in Rogaland, Norway.
Grieg, Bremnes Seashore AS, and Vest Havbruk AS each acquired a one-third ownership in Tytlandsvik Aqua AS, and said they would start construction on a smolt production capacity that will start with an annual capacity of 3,000 tons.
“Later, it will be possible to expand the production facility's capacity with an additional 6,000 tons, which then will yield an annual production capacity of 9,000 tons for the production facility,” the companies said, according to a Reuters article.
After the facility is completed in 2019, production time in the sea should be reduced to 12 months.
The new partnership and facility is part of Grieg’s plans, announced during its fiscal first quarter earnings report in mid-May, to increase production by 10 percent annually from 2018 through 2020.
“GSF has an ongoing focus on improving operating efficiency, and this involves both increasing production per plant and per license, as well as reducing costs per kilo,” the company said in its earnings report. “One of the key steps being taken is to set out bigger smolt, which will make it possible to shorten the production time in the sea. An increase in the number of smolt is also decisive to achieve growth and lower costs.”
Grieg is also focused on improving the survival rate and well-being of the fish, the company said.
The news comes after Grieg announced a drop in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of NOK 131.5 million (USD 15.3 million, EUR 14.1 million) in its fiscal first quarter.
In addition, the producer said that its total volume of fish harvested plummeted 37 percent to 8,552 metric tons (MT).
