Bergen, Norway-headquartered salmon farmer Mowi achieved operational earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 165.7 million (USD 181 million) in the fourth-quarter of last year, down 22 percent from the EUR 213 million (USD 232.6 million) posted for the corresponding period of 2018.
While Mowi’s EBIT of EUR 720.9 million (USD 787.3 million) for 2019 as a whole was lower than the previous two years, CEO Ivan Vindheim said that it had been “another good year financially” for the group, with its best turnover of EUR 4.1 billion (USD 4.5 billion).
Its operational revenue of EUR 1.1 billion (USD 1.2 billion) in the last quarter was up 4 percent year-on-year.
Mowi also harvested a record 435,904 metric tons (MT) of fish in 2019 and 116,314 MT in the last quarter, compared with 375,000 MT in 2018 and 106,000 MT in Q4 2018. Its harvest guidance for 2020 is 450,000 MT.
“Record high full-year volumes in all business areas, good salmon prices and relatively stable costs resulted in strong earnings and dividend distributions. I am very proud of the way my 15,000 colleagues have contributed to the great results,” Vindheim said.
With lower realized prices, higher volumes and stable costs, the operational EBIT of Marine Harvest’s salmon of Norwegian origin in the last quarter of 2019 was EUR 2.12 (USD 2.32) per kilogram, down from EUR 2.44 (USD 2.66) in Q4 2018. Operational EBIT decreases were also seen in its salmon of Scottish, Canadian and Chilean origin, which came in at EUR 1.24 (USD 1.35), EUR -0.53 (USD -0.58) and EUR 0.79 (USD 0.86) per kilogram respectively. Canada trended towards losses due to a mass die-off of 2.6 million salmon – or about 5,000 MT worth – that occurred in the third quarter due to higher seawater temperatures leading to low dissolved oxygen levels.
Meanwhile, its fish of Irish and Faroese origin achieved higher operational EBITs of EUR 3.34 (USD 3.65) and EUR 1.63 (USD 1.78) per kilogram respectively.
Also in the quarter, with a record sales volume of 130,034 MT, Mowi Feed reported an operational EBIT of EUR 13.8 million (USD 15.1 million), an increase of EUR 8 million (USD 8.7 million) from a year previously.
Mowi Consumer Products reported an operational EBIT of EUR 15.1 million (USD 16.5 million), falling from EUR 38.4 million (USD 41.9 million), despite a record 55,293 MT of products being sold.
“The salmon prices increased significantly in all markets during the quarter and in January on strong demand and tighter supply,” Vindheim said. “Notwithstanding the current issues with the Coronavirus, the medium and long term outlook for Mowi remains strong.”
Photo courtesy of Mowi
