SalMar has announced that Gunnar Nielsen has notified the company of his resignation as CFO. He came to the position last April, so, before his announcement, he had held it for 5 months. According to the company's statement to the Oslo Stock Exchange, Nielsen will remain with the company until the end of 2022.
Gustav Witzøe's company has stated that it has "with regret accepted Nielsen's decision" and announced that will promptly start the process of recruiting his replacement. "SalMar wishes to thank Nielsen for his efforts and valuable contributions as part of the top management during the period he has been in the company", said CEO Linda Litlekalsøy Aase.
The announcement of Nielsen's resignation comes at a complicated time not only for SalMar but for the whole industry. Since the Norwegian government made public the proposal of a 40% excise tax on salmon and trout farming, the sector has been on alert. "A tax like this will have significant negative ripple effects for all adjacent industries of the aquaculture industry and the jobs it creates", said SalMar's CEO after the news broke.
Like most companies, SalMar has not yet talked about steps but said it will come back with additional information on the consequences of the tax for the group's operations once more details of the new tax have been clarified. However, the first of these negative effects were felt on the same day as the government's announcement, September 28, with a sharp drop in the stock exchange of Norway's leading salmon producers. For SalMar the drop was just over 30%. Following Nielsen's resignation announcement, SalMar shares gained 2% on Friday morning, September 30.
