Grieg Newfoundland sale talks were sunk by Trump, says CEO
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Talks to find a buyer or investor for Greig Seafood’s salmon farming operations in Newfoundland had to be put on hold when Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, Fish Farming Expert's Norwegian sister site, Kyst.no, reports.
“We had talks with a player for a long time, but when a new president down south took over, the talks stopped. The planned tariff introduction and political framework conditions meant that we put these plans on hold,” Grieg chief executive Andreas Kvame said during the presentation of the company’s results for the fourth quarter of 2024.
Chief financial officer Magnus Johannesen explained that the process in Newfoundland, with the goal of finding partners and buyers, has not yielded acceptable terms.
“This has led us to reassess our operations in Newfoundland, including a review of our investment plans.”
Sale could still happen
Kvame emphasised that if the political conditions change, the company will reconsider the sale.
“For now we have closed this chapter, but if conditions arise that provide value to our shareholders, we will consider it.”
Grieg Seafood is working to reduce production costs in Newfoundland after scaling up for a larger volume that did not materialise in 2024.
“We are re-evaluating fixed costs, boats and equipment to find savings measures,” said Kvame.
He acknowledged that the cost level in Newfoundland will never be as low as in Norway, but that the goal is to reduce it from its current level.
“We expect lower production costs towards the end of the year, while biomass build-up will remain at the same level as last year,” he added.
Higher costs in Canada
Grieg harvested 10,674 gutted weight tonnes of salmon from its sites in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, in 2024, including 5,355 gwt in Q4. There was no harvesting in the second or third quarters. Grieg has exclusive rights to farm salmon in the bay but must use sterile triploid salmon to ensure there is no introgression with wild salmon if there's an escape.
Farming cost for the year was NOK 101.4 per kilo and Grieg Newfoundland made an operating loss of NOK -16.2 per kilo.
On the other side of Canada, Grieg harvested 12,499 gwt in British Columbia in 2024. Farming cost was NOK 99.3 per kilo harvested and Grieg BC, which was challenged with algal blooms, made an operating loss of NOK -22.1 per kilo.
In Norway, Grieg Rogaland (central Norway) harvested 28,813 gwt in 2024, at a farming cost of NOK 63 per kilo. It made an operating profit of NOK 21.4 per kilo.
Grieg Finnmark (northern Norway), which had biological challenges including string jellyfish in 2024, harvested 25,717 gwt last year at a farming cost of NOK 72.4 per kilo. It made an operating loss of NOK -0.7 per kilo.
