Bakkafrost farm in Funningsfjørður, Faroe Islands.
Photo: Heinesen Myndir / Bakkafrost.
Faroes-headquartered salmon farming company Bakkafrost has presented its results for the second quarter of 2025, showing a sharp drop in second-quarter earnings, posting an operational EBIT of DKK 65m (EUR 8.5 / USD 9.8) compared with DKK 388m (EUR 50.4 / USD 58.2) in the same period last year.
"We are not satisfied with the financial results in this quarter. A significant increase in global salmon supply has led to low salmon prices, impacting our earnings," said Bakkafrost CEO Regin Jacobsen, via a press release.
As expected, given its previous profit warning issued in July, Bakkafrost reported that its profits for the second quarter of 2025 took a tumble due to a combination of fish disease problems in Scotland and weaker salmon prices.
Bakkafrost saw revenues from its Faroese operations fall to DKK 1,144m (EUR 148.7 / USD 171.6), generating an operating profit of DKK 211m (EUR 27.4 / USD 31.6), down from DKK 275 million a year earlier. In Scotland, however, the company saw its revenues halved to DKK 431m (EUR 56m / USD 64.6m) and the division recorded a loss of DKK -146m (EUR -19m / USD -22m), compared with a profit of DKK 113m in 2024.
The company reports it has achieved record biological performance in the Faroe Islands, with a 12% reduction in farming costs, feeding activity at all-time highs and a 52% fall in mortality compared with the same quarter last year.
Jacobsen said the Faroese freshwater operation had “stepped up to a new level” by producing smolt of “unprecedented quality and robustness”, and said the company viewed this as a "very strong achievement".
In contrast, Bakkafrost's Scottish division faced difficulties in its freshwater operations, with disease causing significant mortalities.
In response to this, Bakkafrost said it is now integrating its Scottish freshwater unit into the Faroese organisation, led by the Group Freshwater Director Rúni Olsen, and has reinforced management at its Applecross site with staff from the Faroe Islands.
"While freshwater remains a challenge, the Scottish marine operations have shown good development overall, although some one-off events led to higher mortality," Jacobsen said.
Despite setbacks during the quarter, Bakkafrost has raised its harvest guidance for 2025 by 7% to around 104,000 tonnes gutted weight, split between 82,000 tonnes in the Faroe Islands and 22,000 tonnes in Scotland.
Bakkafrost has also announced a DKK 5,000m (EUR 650m / USD 750m) investment plan for 2026–2030, which it says will improve efficiency, reduce biological risks and support sustainable growth. Planned projects include a new hatchery in the Faroe Islands and a new processing facility in Scotland.
"Despite the pressure from lower prices, the strong biological performance in both the Faroes and Scotland has supported volume growth. We are therefore increasing our harvest guidance for the year in both regions by a total of 7%," Jacobsen stated.
"Our strategic priorities remain unchanged - to continue building biological resilience, strengthen operational performance across regions, and secure long-term value creation," he added.