Marine Farms on Wednesday released its first-quarter results, including EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of NOK 21.1 million (USD 3.3 million, EUR 2.7 million), up from NOK 6.5 million in the first quarter of 2009.
The Norwegian company attributed its strong first-quarter results largely to historically high prices for salmon in the United Kingdom, combined with higher prices and lower costs at its sea bass- and sea bream-farming operation in Spain.
Lakeland, Marine Farms’ salmon-farming division in the UK, reached an EBIT per kilogram of fish (gutted weight) of NOK 10.20 in the first quarter of 2010, up from NOK 7.20 in 2009, as salmon sales fell 6 percent compared to last year.
Culmarex, the company’s sea bass- and sea bream-farming operation in Spain, attained an EBIT per kilogram of fish (gutted weight) of NOK 2.40 in the first quarter of 2010, up from a loss of NOK 7.10 in 2009, as sea bass and sea bream sales jumped 43 percent compared to last year.
Marine Farms’ cobia-farming operations in Vietnam and Belize reported a loss of NOK 8.6 million in the first quarter of 2010, compared to a loss of NOK 6.3 million in 2009.
At last month’s European Seafood Exposition, SeafoodSource interviewed Marine Harvest executives Bjorn Myrseth and Carlos Massad about the company’s plans to ramp up its cobia production and why the up-and-coming species is on the brink of breaking into the mainstream.
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