Marine Harvest met its first-quarter Atlantic salmon harvest forecast of 83,000 metric tons (MT) despite continued production issues at its farm sites in Scotland.
Increased harvests in both Norway and Canada were enough to offset the shortfall in Scottish production, which dropped to 7,000 MT from 10,468 MT in the corresponding period of last year.
For the three-month period, the company’s Norwegian operations harvested 65,000 MT of salmon, up from 55,107 MT in Q1 2014, while its Canadian business unit harvested 10,000 MT, up from 6,368 MT. A further 1,000 MT was harvested from its other production regions.
As a result of the contemplated merger between Marine Harvest Chile and AquaChile, the business unit is reported separately. Marine Harvest Chile harvested a total of 16,000 MT in Q1 2015, down from 17,741 MT in Q1 2014.
The Norway-based salmon farming giant achieved operational earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of NOK 910 million (EUR 108.9 million; USD 115.9 million) in Q1 2015, down from NOK 1.09 billion (EUR 130.4 million; USD 138.9 million) in Q1 2014.
The group’s salmon of Norwegian origin achieved an operational EBIT of NOK 12.60 (EUR 1.51; USD 1.61) per kg in Q1 2015, down slightly from NOK 12.66 (EUR 1.52; USD 1.62) in the corresponding quarter of 2014. At the same time, its salmon of Canadian origin achieved an operational EBIT of NOK 4.80 (EUR 0.57; USD 0.61) per kg, down from its record high level of NOK 19.10 (EUR 2.29; USD 2.43), and its salmon of Scottish origin recorded an operational EBIT of NOK 2.60 (EUR 0.31; USD 0.33) per kg, down from NOK 12.66.
Its full Q1 results will be released at the end of this month.
In its full-year 2014 results, Marine Harvest issued a 2015 harvest guidance of 440,000 MT, which it said factored in Scotland’s biological challenges. Last year, it produced a record 418,873 MT of salmon, up from 343,772 MT in 2013.
