Illustration of Nordic Halibut's land-based facility in Torjulvågen.
Image: Nordic Halibut.
Norwegian halibut farmer Nordic Halibut has announced a series of measures in support of its expansion plans, including two strategic acquisitions, a larger overdraft facility and the approval of new share issuance powers at its annual general meeting at the end of May.
The acquisition deal centres on the Tjeldbergodden facility, a land-based aquaculture site formerly used for cleaner fish production, which Nordic Halibut has used since 2024 and now plans to bring fully under its control. To do this, the Averøy-based halibut farmer has agreed to acquire two companies from Heimstø AS: Thule Marine AS and Gulbygget AS.
Thule Marine owns Tjeldbergodden Rensefisk AS, the operating company for the site, while Gulbygget owns the property and operational facilities leased to Tjeldbergodden Rensefisk.
Nordic Halibut plans to convert part of the facility into a dedicated broodstock unit. CEO Edvard Henden said full ownership of the facility is "a natural next step for Nordic Halibut."
"The facility has delivered strong biological results in halibut production since 2024, and converting part of it into a dedicated broodstock unit secures a critical input for our continued scale-up," Henden said, adding that the acquisition "strengthens our operational control and supports our strategy of building a fully integrated value chain from genetics to plate.”
According to the company, the acquisitions are valued at NOK 24 million (€2.22m / $2.58 m), which will be settled through the issue of 1 million new shares in Nordic Halibut at NOK 24 (€2.22 / $2.58) per share.
The announcements came alongside Nordic Halibut’s interim report for the first quarter of 2026, which showed higher harvest volumes but a weaker bottom line. The halibut farmer harvested 269 tonnes HOG during the quarter, up 18% from 228 tonnes HOG in Q1 2025. Average harvest weight rose to 6.6 kg HOG, compared with 5.6 kg HOG a year earlier.
Revenue increased to NOK 47.7 million (€4.41m / $5.13m), from NOK 44.1m in the same period last last year. However, EBITDA was negative NOK 6.3 million (-€582,964 / -$677,830), compared with positive EBITDA of NOK 20.9 million (€1.93m / $2.25m) in Q1 2025. Nordic Halibut reported a loss before tax of NOK 38.4 million (€3.55m / $4.13m), and a net loss for the period of the same amount.
The company said the result reflected its current investment and biomass build-up phase. Depreciation and amortisation rose to NOK 23.2 million, while net financial expenses amounted to NOK 8.9 million. Nordic Halibut also noted that its quarterly results may remain volatile while production capacity is being expanded and biological assets continue to develop.
On the operational side, biomass production at sea totalled 353 tonnes during the quarter, representing growth of 10.5% year-on-year and, net of harvest, biomass at sea increased by 1.6% compared with Q4 2025. The company said growth was below its own expectations, even after accounting for seasonal factors, but added that growth rates improved towards the end of the quarter and should continue to improve in Q2.
The average sales price for fresh HOG halibut was NOK 188 (€17.40 / $20.23) per kg, compared with NOK 193 (€17.86 / $20.77) per kg in Q1 2025. Nordic Halibut said price achievement remained solid, although exchange rate movements had a negative effect compared with the same period last year, with the company seeing continued demand for larger-sized halibut.
Construction of the company’s Torjulvågen land-based facility progressed during the quarter. Nordic Halibut says the first fish should be introduced to the site in Q3 2026, and expects the facility to be completed in 2027.
The company said it expects to harvest approximately 1,500 tonnes HOG in 2026, and maintained its longer-term target of reaching 10,350 tonnes HOG by 2031. According to the company, production will be considered to have reached "run-rate" when its rolling 12-month production forecast exceeds 4,500 tonnes, which is expected to take place in 2027.
In its interim report, Nordic Halibut also said it had continued work on value-added products, including pilot production of fillet products during the first quarter. During the quarter the company also held an event in Macau with a selected partner, aiming to broaden its market presence in Asia’s high-end hospitality sector.
Nordic Halibut also reported that SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge and Eksfin have granted a further increase in its overdraft facility to NOK 500 million (€46.27m / $53.8m). The company said this would strengthen its liquidity and help fund continued growth in biomass production.
At the annual general meeting on 28 May, shareholders also opened the way for the halibut farmer to raise further equity, giving the board until 30 June 2027 to increase the company’s share capital by up to NOK 133.6 million (€12.36m / $14.38m).
The mandate corresponds to as many as 26.7 million new shares, or up to 50% of the company’s current share capital.
The shareholder mandate follows a private placement completed last year, when Nordic Halibut raised gross proceeds of NOK 285 million from existing shareholders through the allocation of 14.25 million shares at NOK 20 per share.
