Blumar fishing facility.
Photo: Blumar.
The third quarter of 2025 for the Chilean company Blumar was a period marked by recovery from the various incidents it suffered in 2024. Following the harmful algal bloom (HAB), the fire at the salmon processing plant in Magallanes, and the delay in the sardine and anchovy season, the company finally returned to normal in Q3.
Thanks mainly to higher salmon harvest and sales volumes, Blumar's consolidated revenues reached USD 568.7 million as of September 30, 2025, representing a 30% year-on-year increase. Pre-fair value EBITDA totalled USD 82.2 million, 22% higher than the cumulative total for 2024.
Looking exclusively at Q3 2025, revenues reached USD 163.9 million, up 19% from the same period last year. However, the company also recorded a net loss of USD 5.3 million, influenced by the drop in the sale prices of fishmeal and fish oil in the fishing segment.
As Gerardo Balbontín, General Manager of Blumar, pointed out, the significant year-on-year variations in revenue, EBITDA, and accumulated profits are a direct result of the return to normality achieved in the aquaculture segment.
"It is important to recall that our salmon business was severely affected by the harmful algal bloom in the first quarter of 2024, which led to a very low basis for comparison in terms of volumes and results. Therefore, the year-on-year variations in 2025 are mainly due to operational normalization," he said.
Thus, following the recovery in production after the HAB in the first quarter of last year, Blumar reported that cumulative revenues as of September 30, 2025, in the aquaculture business grew by 62%, equivalent to USD 127.6 million, compared to the same period in 2024.
Although the average price of salmon fell 5% year-on-year, from USD 7.24/kg wfe to USD 6.90/kg wfe—affected by the U.S. tariffs and increased global supply of salmon—the 69% increase in sales volume offset this decline and boosted revenue.
In its note commenting on the Q3 results, Blumar also said that, during 2025, the company has operated in a more demanding cost environment, and specifically in the third quarter, there was an increase in sales costs compared to previous quarters.
Influenced by a more challenging health situation in the Aysén region, which led to lower productivity in some sites during the period, the unit cost of sales in Q3 2025 reached USD 6.83/kg wfe, up from USD 6.50 in Q1 and USD 6.49 in Q2.
However, despite this quarterly pressure, Blumar reported that the cumulative ex-cage cost to September showed a decrease of 8.8% compared to the previous year, reaching USD 4.68/kg wfe, supported by lower feed costs, higher volumes, and improved productivity at the farming centers.
In the fishing segment, cumulative revenues remained relatively stable, with an increase of USD 2.3 million, equivalent to 1%. The Chilean company said this result reflects a year of lower prices for fishmeal, down 18%, and fish oil, down 51%, which were nevertheless partially offset by a 23% increase in revenues from frozen jack mackerel.
As for the third quarter, according to Blumar, the operation was marked by lower fishing yields for fishmeal compared to the third quarter of 2024, due to poorer quality raw materials available in the central-southern zone.
In its note on the results, the company also said that the delay by the Chilean authorities in publishing fishing quotas affected the industry's planning during the season, limiting its ability to catch part of the available resource in a timely manner.
"The results for the quarter show that Chilean fishing continues to operate under a level of regulatory uncertainty that hinders industrial planning. Delays in key decisions, such as fishing quotas, directly impact the efficiency and profitability of the sector. Having timely and stable rules is essential to protect employment, investment, and the development of companies such as Blumar," said Balbontín.
With Chile currently immersed in an electoral process, Blumar's General Manager is not the only leader of a seafood company in the country who, taking advantage of the presentation of quarterly results, is calling on the authorities for clearer regulation of fishing and aquaculture. Camanchaca's General Manager, Ricardo García Holtz, has done so on several occasions throughout the year, and did so again in Q3.
Regarding its next steps, Blumar said that, even though the price and cost environment continues to be challenging for both the aquaculture and fishing industries, toward the end of the year, it will remain focused on efficiency and operational discipline.
