Icelandic seafood firm Samherji recently released its financial report for 2024, which featured profit decreases that the company attributed to regulatory burdens and a canceled fishing season.
Samherji reported an operating profit of EUR 42.4 million (USD 49.4 million) for 2024, representing a year-over-year decrease of EUR 12 million (USD 14 million). Its net profit for the year, including its share of profit from associated companies and financial items, amounted to EUR 45.6 million (USD 3.1 million) after taxes, which was down from 2023’s EUR 58.7 million (USD 68.3 million).
Samherji’s share of profits from associated companies last year amounted to EUR 11.7 million (USD 13.6 million). This total was EUR 8.5 million (USD 9.9 million) less than in 2023, with the company citing lower earnings from its pelagic fisheries operation, caused by the cancelation of the Icelandic capelin fishing season in 2024.
Samherji CEO Baldvin Thorsteinsson said that considering external factors at play, 2024 still represented a successful year for the company’s demersal fishing and processing operations.
“In pelagic fisheries, the decline in operating results is primarily due to the absence of a capelin season – a major disappointment for both the industry and the Icelandic economy as a whole. We hope to work closely with the government to better understand the reasons behind the significant decline in the capelin stock in recent years,” he said.
Thorsteinsson also confirmed that an increase in fishing fees in Iceland has placed a greater financial burden on the industry and required the company to carefully review its operations to cover the increases while continuing to invest in infrastructure and value creation.
Nevertheless, investment has continued and has included the construction of new vessels, modern processing plants, and the implementation of new technological solutions across its operations, Thorsteinsson said, noting that since he became a shareholder in the company in 2019, 88 percent of the group’s profits have been allocated to direct investments in fishing, processing, and land-based aquaculture.
“The company’s strategy is to continue [on] this path. The largest current project is the Salmon Garden – a new land-based aquaculture facility in Reykjanes, which will create a number of permanent, year-round jobs locally and significant export revenue,” he said.
The total equity raised for Salmon Garden, with signed subscription agreements, currently amounts to EUR 210 million (USD 244.5 million), with Samherji contributing close to half the equity and the remainder covered by external investors.
Construction of the first phase of the facility is scheduled for completion in spring 2027.
Thorsteinsson replaced his father Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson as CEO of Samherji at the end of June 2025. Thorsteinn Már held the position for 42 years since the company’s inception in 1983.
“The fisheries industry has been my father’s passion and life’s work, and it is rare to find someone who matches his dedication to the business and his genuine care for all the company’s employees. What began with Samherji’s office at the kitchen table at home has grown into a group employing around 800 people,” Thorsteinsson said.
Thorsteinn Már will continue to be involved in various company projects, including the expansion of Samherji’s Fish Farming business.
