Bakkafrost headquarters in the Faroe Islands.
Photo: Bakkafrost Group.
Faroes-headquartered salmon farming company Bakkafrost has warned that its profits for the second quarter of 2025 will be lower than expected, blaming fish disease problems in Scotland and weaker salmon prices.
In a stock exchange announcement, which issued a profit warning, Bakkafrost released preliminary figures which showed the group expects an operational profit (EBIT) of around DKK 65m (EUR 8.45m / USD 9.75m) for the quarter.
The profit warning comes despite an overall increase in harvest volumes during the quarter. In its most recent operational update, Bakkafrost reported it had harvested 23,000 tonnes of salmon in Q2, up 7% from the same period last year. The increase was largely due to strong performance in the Faroe Islands, where the company harvested 16,000 tonnes – a 57% jump from the same period last year.
However, harvest volumes in Scotland dropped to 7,000 tonnes, down 39% year-on-year. The company said its Scottish sites were hit by disease challenges, which affected both its freshwater and seawater operations and continued into July.
The results published this week show that the Scottish farming division posted an operating loss of DKK 127 million (EUR 16.5m / USD 19.1m), while freshwater operations in Scotland lost DKK 72 million (EUR 9.4m / USD 10.8m).
Bakkafrost's trading update earlier in July estimated incident-based mortality costs in Scotland at DKK 27m (EUR 3.5m / USD 4.05m), but the new figures indicate a much higher impact. Bakkafrost has now reported it recorded "exceptional mortality costs" of DKK 93m (EUR 12.1m / USD 13.95m) across its freshwater and farming operations in Scotland, "including a write-down of mortality in July related to the same disease events".
Meanwhile, Bakkafrost's Faroese divisions were profitable, with its Freshwater business earning DKK 85 million (EUR 11.1m / USD 12.75m). However, the company's salmon farming operations in the Faroes showed a much smaller profit, at DKK 4 million (EUR 0.52m / USD 0.6m).
The company also reported that its fishmeal, oil and feed segment achieved DKK 89 million (EUR 11.6m / USD 13.35m), having processed 159,500 tonnes of marine raw materials in Q2, up from 90,600 tonnes the year before. Feed sales also increased to 37,500 tonnes, and it sold 9,000 tonnes of fishmeal. Bakkafrost also reported that its Sales and Services segments brought in a combined total of DKK 114m (EUR 14.8m / USD 17.1m).
More details are due to be published in Bakkafrost's full Q2 report next month.