Norway Royal Salmon (NRS) has posted operational earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of NOK 164.3 million (USD 18.7 million, EUR 16.8 million) for the first-quarter of this year, a decrease of NOK 28.4 million (USD 3.2 million, EUR 2.9 million) year-on-year. The Trondheim-headquartered company attributed this reduction to a lower harvest volume of 8,096 metric tons (MT) gutted weight (down 26 percent on Q1 2018).
NRS achieved operating revenues of almost NOK 1.5 billion (USD 171.1 million, EUR 153.6 million) in the last quarter, which it said was mainly due to higher prices.
In a company statement, CEO Charles Høstlund said, “We are pleased with the operation in our main region, Region North, during the quarter. It is particularly gratifying to see that Finnmark continues the positive trend. Region South has harvested from the same site as in the previous quarter, with announced high production costs due to biological challenges.”
Region North posted an operational EBIT of NOK 179 million (USD 20.4 million, EUR 18.3 million) in the first-quarter, compared with NOK 184.4 million (USD 21 million, EUR 18.9 million) in Q1 2018. Its operational EBIT-per-kilogram gutted weight was NOK 25.25 (USD 2.88, EUR 2.59), up from NOK 19.44 (USD 2.22, EUR 1.99). This region harvested 7,016 MT of fish in the quarter, down from 9,597 MT.
NRS’s Region South posted an operational EBIT of NOK 2.5 million (USD 285,146, EUR 256,052) in the quarter, compared with NOK 20.9 million (USD 2.4 million, EUR 2.1 million) in Q1 2018. Operational EBIT-per-kilogram gutted weight was NOK 2.31 (USD 0.26, EUR 0.24), down from NOK 15.64 (USD 1.78, EUR 1.60). It harvested 1,080 MT of salmon, down from 1,338 MT.
The estimated total harvest volume for 2019 is 37,500 MT.
Also in the first-quarter, the first salmon from NRS’s Icelandic operation Arctic Fish was harvested (864 MT). The company said the production had been good with a survival rate of 93.5 percent for the fish that were released in sea cages. Arctic Fish estimates to harvest 3,400 MT gutted weight of salmon this year.
As well as owning salmon farming sites in West Finnmark, Troms and Haugsund, NRS has minority interests in three associated fish farming companies that own 10 fish farming licenses, as well as Arctic Fish.
Image courtesy of Norway Royal Salmon
