Bergen, Norway-headquartered salmon-farming firm Mowi recently posted record results in both its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 reports, and the recent acquisition of a controlling stake in fellow farming company Nova Sea will allow it to grow even further, according to CEO Ivan Vindheim.
Delivering Mowi’s latest results on 12 February, Vindheim said the deal announced at the end of January to acquire the remaining shares of Nova Sea will strengthen Mowi’s position as “a global and national powerhouse for innovation and sustainable aquaculture” and ensure it is “instrumental and a catalyst for the further sustainable growth in Northern Norway.”
Nova Sea’s 52,000-gutted-weight-tonnage (GWT) salmon farm, located in Northern Norway’s Production Area (PA) 8, is known for its industry-leading margins and biological metrics, Vindheim said, adding that having been a minority owner in Nova Sea since 1995, it’s a company that Mowi already knows well.
“It was a day of joy when we finally decided to fully join our forces after 30 years. Good things come to those who wait, they say. I think that’s particularly true in this case, because together, we will have 157,000 GWT of harvest volumes in Northern Norway,” Vindheim said. “These volumes will provide the basis for significant synergies in the value chain, including improved [maximum allowed biomass] utilization and biological performance, in addition to enhanced license and site portfolio, not to mention reduced costs."
Mowi’s share acquisition, which is still subject to approval by various competition authorities, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025.
“Mowi’s idiosyncratic growth continues unabated, and with Nova Sea on board, we now expect to see a harvest of 600,000 GWT next year and not 2029, which was the original target,” Vindheim said.
For 2025, Mowi had originally forecast a harvest of 520,000 GWT but has now upped this to 530,000 GWT. Mowi has also increased its 2029 target volume to at least 650,000 GWT.
Its record 2024 harvest volume of just over 501,000 GWT represented an annual growth of 5.7 percent year over year, compared with the industry’s average of 1.3 percent growth, according to the firm’s recent results.
These volumes translated to record high revenues of EUR 5.6 billion (USD 5.8 billion), up from last year’s previous best of EUR 5.5 billion (USD 5.7 billion).
Its 2024 operational EBIT was EUR 828.9 million (USD 860 million), versus over 1 billion (USD 1 billion) for 2023.
For Q4 2024 in particular, Mowi reported record revenues of EUR 1.5 billion (USD 1.6 billion), compared with EUR 1.4 billion (USD 1.5 billion) previously. Its operational EBIT increased by EUR 22.8 million (USD 23.7 million) to EUR 225.9 million (USD 234.4 million). It also recorded a record high harvest of 133,596 GWT.
In Norway, Mowi’s largest farming region, it produced 83,649 GWT of salmon in last year’s closing quarter, which was 2,472 GWT more than in Q4 2023, with Vindheim noting that biological issues, such as winter sores, were better compared to 2023. For the full year, the region achieved a record harvest of 303,501 GWT.
“2024 was a milestone year for our Norwegian operations, as we crossed the 300,000 GWT harvest volume line for the first time” Vindheim said. “Having Nova Sea on board, we are now on course for 400,000 GWT in 2029 for Mowi Norway. We can say that things are moving along well in our most important entity.”
Elsewhere, it was also a good year for Mowi’s operations in Scotland, which harvested 16,953 GWT in Q4 2024 and 65,977 GWT for the year overall.
Of its other farming regions, Chile contributed 22,281 GWT in Q4 2024 and 72,694 GWT for the full year to the totals, Canada contributed 5,239 GWT and 30,426 GWT, respectively, Ireland harvested 859 GWT and 8,887 GWT, the Faroes contributed 1,158 GWT and 9,378 GWT, and Iceland (Arctic Fish) was responsible for 3,456 GWT and 10,667 GWT of the totals.
Mowi’s downstream businesses Mowi Consumer Products and Mowi Feed also achieved record results in 2024.
Mowi Consumer Products reported an operational EBIT of EUR 52.8 million (USD 54.8 million) for Q4 and EUR 145.8 million (USD 151.3 million) for the year, with a record 247,333 metric tons (MT) of products sold by the division, up 6.5 percent on 2023. The volume sold in Q4 amounted to 71,202 MT.
“We are still seeing good demand for our products, partly with the help of a constantly evolving product portfolio in the wake of our branding efforts,” Vindheim said.
Mowi Feed posted an operational EBITDA of EUR 62 million (USD 64.3 million) for the full year, with 584,586 MT of products sold. Q4 2024’s totals were EUR 20.5 million (USD 21.3 million) and 163,799 MT, respectively.
Vindheim noted that with Nova Sea, Mowi will need additional feed capacity in Norway in order to facilitate growth. As such, a 60,000-MT expansion project will take place at its feed plant at Bjugn. Ground will be broken next month, with completion expected in the second-quarter of 2026.
