Worker at a Grieg Seafood salmon farm in Norway.
Grieg Seafood ASA has released its operational update for the first quarter of 2025, reporting mixed results across its Norwegian and Canadian farming operations.
Grieg's operations in Rogaland, western Norway, saw better biological performance and higher harvest volumes than anticipated, the company stated. Farming costs in the region were 12.5% below previous guidance, contributing to the stronger operational results.
Meanwhile, in Finnmark, farming costs came in 4.5% below previous guidance, although biological problems have surfaced in the form of cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS), which the company said began affecting operations late in Q1. As a result of this, the company has started early harvesting of fish in Q2, which it said will increase farming costs going forward.
Grieg's Canada operations continue to be impacted by uncertainty over the future of fish farming in British Columbia, where Grieg said its harvest volumes were low and came exclusively from broodfish, driving significantly higher farming costs per kilogram.
Meanwhile, Grieg said its Newfoundland operations met internal expectations, but were hit by a NOK 48 million one-off cost related to "demobilizing" its Post-Smoltification (PSA) facility in Marystown, Newfoundland.
Construction of the PSA facility began in 2023, but the project was met with several challenges, including adverse weather conditions. Grieg indicated in December it was pausing the project, but it planned to resume construction in spring 2025 when conditions were more favourable. However, the future of the facility now seems to be in doubt.
Grieg Seafood also reported that it has laid off staff at its head office in Bergen, Norway, during the first quarter, as part of a "cost efficiency" initiative. The company did not give details of which roles were affected. "As a result, additional one-off costs related to management changes and personnel restructuring of NOK 20 million has been recognized in Q1 2025," the company said.
Due to these developments, the company announced it has postponed the release of its full Q1 2025 financial report to 27 May, from the initially scheduled 22 May. An updated financial outlook and further details on the impact of CMS in Finnmark will be provided in the full quarterly presentation, the company said.
The company management has undergone major changes in recent months with the announcement that CEO Andreas Kvame had decided to step down in March 2025, replaced by interim CEO Nina Willumsen Grieg, formerly Regional Director of Grieg Seafood Rogaland and a member of the founding family.
The company brought in a new Chief Financial Officer, Magnus Johannesen, in February, while last month both Grieg Seafood's Chief Strategy Director, Nina Stangeland, and Global Quality Assurance Director, Martin Mjos-Haugland, announced their departure.
The Norwegian seafood giant is undertaking a "financial transformation" program, which Kvame launched in February following disastrous 2024 results, which saw a vertiginous drop in EBIT of almost 99%.
