Concept illustration for SalMar's NOK 500 million Salmon Living Lab innovation centre.
Image: SalMar.
Norwegian salmon farming company SalMar has announced it has successfully issued NOK 4.35 billion (EUR 370m / USD 388m) in senior unsecured green bonds.
The bond issue was split into two tranches, with NOK 3.25bn in a five-year green bond, and NOK 1.1bn in a seven-year green bond, managed by financial institutions Danske Bank, DNB Markets, Nordea, and SEB, which acted as Global Coordinators and Joint Lead Managers, while Rabobank served as a Joint Lead Manager.
The settlement date for both tranches is set for January 30, 2025, with an application underway for the bonds to be listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
Green bonds are similar to traditional bonds, but the funds raised are exclusively earmarked for use in projects that have positive environmental impacts, such as initiatives addressing climate change and environmental sustainability.
In April last year, Mowi also raised significant funds through a green bond issue, totalling NOK 3.5 billion.
SalMar has not as yet specified what the funds will be used for, but CEO Frode Arntsen has over the past year spoken publicly about the need for greater research and development on sustainability and fish health in the industry.
In March 2024, the Norwegian salmon farming giant announced it was investing NOK 500 million (USD 47m / EUR 43m) in its "Living Lab" innovation and R&D initiative, aimed at finding and developing more sustainable solutions for salmon farming. SalMar appointed Kristine Hartmann as Living Lab CEO, and said it was seeking collaboration with industry leaders, NGOs, academia, and other agents, with feed company Cargill signing on as its first partner.
SalMar also recently disclosed preliminary harvest volumes for the fourth quarter of 2024, totaling 73,800 tonnes gutted weight (tgw) across its operations - compared with 83,100 tonnes during the same period last year. Within Norway, the company's operations achieved 39,700 tonnes in Central Norway, and 27,700 tonnes in Northern Norway.
SalMar's offshore aquaculture project, SalMar Aker Ocean, did not produce any harvest during the quarter. The group's Icelandic operations, Icelandic Salmon, produced 6,500 tonnes, the company confirmed after an initial error in reporting showed only 1,500 tonnes.
SalMar had previously warned that it was reducing harvest expectations for the fourth quarter after a series of biological problems led to a 24% year-on-year drop in harvest volumes from its Norwegian operations during Q3.
At the time, Arntsen said the company continued to "remain focused on improving performance and maximizing value chain potential."
The full Q4 2024 financial report is scheduled for release on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
