Mowi is celebrating another record-breaking quarter, which it attributes to strong harvest volumes, good operational performance across all areas of the business, and healthy prices for its salmon.
The Norwegian salmon giant reported "all-time high" revenue of 1,365 million euros in Q2, up from 1,232 million euros in the same quarter last year. Its operational profit was also robust, reporting 300 million euros in the quarter.
Presenting the quarterly results this morning in Oslo, Norway, Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim welcomed the results, saying "I am very pleased to see continuous improvement over time throughout the value chain."
Mowi's harvest during Q2 amounted to 107,500 tonnes of salmon, above guidance of 104,500 tonnes.
The full-year harvest guidance for 2023 continues at 484,000 tonnes, which Mowi describes as an "all-time high", equivalent to growth of 4.4% year-over-year.
This, Mowi says, confirms the company's solid growth trajectory at levels above the wider industry, which is projected at 0.6% in 2023.
"Our growth in harvest volumes in recent years is encouraging. In the second quarter, biological performance was positively impacted by improved production and survival rates compared with one year ago," Vindheim said.
Mowi's consumer products division also reported success, with a a seasonally record-high quarter based on strong yields and improved operational efficiency. Consumer demand continued to be good, Vindheim said, with an improvement in volumes improved, and increase in average prices.
"I am impressed by the organisation's commitment and performance both upstream and downstream. We continue to capture market share and capitalise on our advantages as a global, integrated company. Our branding efforts continue unabated, and the MOWI brand now has a truly global footprint, being present in 18 markets, with focus on further growth," Vindheim said.
Mowi's feed division also had a strong quarter, recording its best-ever second quarter earnings.
"Sold volumes were seasonally record-high on the back of continued strong growth in sea, which demonstrates the high quality of our feed. Feed composition, effective sourcing, feed performance analysis and collaboration between Feed, Farming and R&D divisions are all key ingredients for the success of our feed strategy," Vindheim said.
Mowi's Board has decided to pay a quarterly dividend of NOK 2.00 per share.
On 31 May, the Norwegian Parliament approved the implementation of a 25% resource rent tax on salmon farming with effect from 1 January 2023. Including corporate taxes this equates to a marginal tax level of 47%, Mowi said in its quarterly presentation.
"We are of course very disappointed by the Parliament's decision, which has already proved costly for value creation in the industry as investments worth NOK 40 billion have been put on hold. However, we have not given up on turning this around. We also intend to pursue our legal interests," Vindheim said.
On the same day as the quarterly results were announced, it emerged that Mowi plans to take legal action over the so-called salmon tax, with Vindheim explaining Mowi would take its case against the Norwegian state to the Oslo district court.