Salmon-farming company Masoval reported a significant drop in its Q4 2024 earnings as operational challenges at its Farming Mid segment resulted in high costs.
The company posted NOK 572 million (USD 51 million, EUR 48.9 million) in operating revenue in Q4 2024, dropping from the NOK 688 million (USD 61.9 million, EUR 58.8 million) it posted in Q4 2023. According to the company’s results, the company’s salmon sales revenue dropped from NOK 682 million (USD 61.3 million, EUR 58.3 million) in Q4 2023 to NOK 452 million (USD 40.6 million, EUR 38.6 million) in Q4 2024.
The company’s harvested volumes also dropped, falling to 4,725 metric tons (MT) in Q4 2024 from the 7,927 MT it posted in Q4 2023.
Alongside revenue and harvest drops, the company’s operational EBIT also dropped to just NOK 3.1 million (USD 278,000, EUR 265,000) in Q4 2024, down from NOK 112 million (USD 10 million, EUR 9.5 million) in Q4 2023.
According to Masoval, its Farming Mid segment struggled under what it called “extraordinary sea lice pressure.” That high sea lice pressure forced the company to undergo intensive delousing, and that, combined with accelerated harvesting at two sites, reduced harvests at the location.
All told, Masoval harvested just 1,976 MT of salmon in Q4 2024 from Farming Mid, well under half the 6,784 MT it harvested in Q4 2023.
“The fish harvested from this generation had a low harvest weight, resulting in low price achievement and higher cost,” Masoval said.
The combination of lower weights and higher costs pushed the operational EBIT per kilogram of salmon to a loss of NOK 3.30 (USD 0.29, EUR 0.28) per every kilogram in Q4 2024, compared to a gain of NOK 18.90 (USD 1.70, EUR 1.61) in Q4 2023. That pushed Farming Mid's operational EBIT to a loss of NOK 6.4 million (USD 575,000, EUR 547,000), which was the main driver behind Masoval’s lower performance.
“Farming Mid is ...
