Mowi ASA, the world’s largest salmon producer, has released its trading update for the third quarter of 2024, reporting what it describes as an "all-time high" harvest volume of 161,000 gutted weight tonnes (GWT). This figure surpasses the company's previous guidance of 159,500 GWT for the period.
The results represent a 19% rise in total harvest volume year-over-year, compared with the 135,000 GWT recorded in the third quarter of 2023.
Regionally, Norway saw the largest increase, producing 106,000 tonnes in Q3 2024 compared to 86,000 tonnes in Q3 2023 - equating to a rise of 23%. Chile also reported growth, with 23,000 tonnes in 2024 compared to 17,500 tonnes the previous year.
Ireland showed the most dramatic change, producing 3,500 tonnes in 2024 versus 2,000 tonnes in 2023 - an increase of 75%. Harvest volume in Mowi's Faroe Islands operations also rose to 3,000 tonnes (versus 2,500 tonnes last year), while Scotland and Canada maintained relatively stable production levels.
However, profitability did not match the increased harvest volume. Mowi’s operational EBIT for the Group in Q3 2024 was approximately EUR 173 million, marking a 14.78% decline from the EUR 203 million reported in Q3 2023.
The best-performing regions in terms of operational EBIT per kilogram were Norway, Ireland and Scotland. At EUR 1.40 per kg, Mowi's Norwegian operations achieved the highest performance for the group, with Ireland in second place at EUR 1.20.
Mowi Ireland showed the most significant increase across the group as a whole, with a rise of EUR 0.40 per kg in EBIT year-over-year. Mowi's Scottish business also performed well, ranking third at EUR 0.85 per kg.
These regions outpaced others such as Chile, the Faroes, and Iceland, which had lower but still positive EBIT per kg figures. Canada was the only region to report a negative EBIT, with a loss of EUR 0.55 per kg, although Canada East managed to achieve a positive result of EUR 0.64 per kg.
The group saw a blended farming cost of EUR 5.72 per kilogram during the quarter, representing a slight improvement from EUR 5.84 per kilogram in Q2 of this year, and a near match with last year's third quarter costs, which stood at EUR 5.73 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, Mowi's Consumer Products division saw a 7.5% increase in operational EBIT compared to Q3 2023, rising from EUR 40 million to EUR 43 million. Mowi's Feed segment showed even stronger growth, with operational EBITDA increasing by 25%, from EUR 20 million in Q3 2023 to EUR 25 million in Q3 2024.
The company's net interest-bearing debt (NIBD) at the end of the quarter stood at EUR 1.77 billion, excluding IFRS 16 effects.
Mowi will publish its complete Q3 2024 report on November 6, 2024.
