Lerøy announces record revenues
Salmonid farmer Lerøy Seafood Group had record revenues in the last quarter of 2021, it said today.
The Group reported revenue of NOK 6.519 billion (£539 million) in the quarter, up 26% on Q4 2020. Operating profit before fair value adjustment more than doubled to NOK 902m from NOK 441m in Q4 2020, although this is not a record.
Lerøy said strong demand for seafood, better prices realised for the Group’s main products and an improvement in underlying operations were important factors driving the significant earnings improvement in all segments compared with the same period in 2020.
Strong demand
“The demand for seafood is strong, giving grounds for optimism about the future. There is a positive development in activity level and prices realised. Compared with Q4 2020, earnings have increased in all segments,” said chief executive Henning Beltestad.
“We are reporting an all-time high revenue of NOK 23 billion for full-year 2021. Our vertically integrated value chain has proved resilient, and the development is in line with the Group’s growth strategy.”
186,600 gwt harvested
Lerøy’s farming division grows both salmon and trout and it also has divisions for wildcatch and value-added products, sales and distribution (VAPS&D). The largest share of its operating profit in Q4 came from its salmon and trout division.
Farming EBIT per kilo was NOK 16.1m (Q4 2020: NOK 9.3m) on an improved harvest of 51,332 gutted weight tonnes (48,349 gwt).
The company harvested 186,600 gwt of salmon and trout in its three Norwegian production regions in 2021 and is guiding for 185,000 gwt this year.
Lerøy can also add a further 23,000 gwt of salmon from Scottish Sea Farms, which it owns 50/50 with SalMar. SSF expects to harvest 46,000 gwt this year following its £164m acquisition of the Scottish assets of Grieg Seafood. Although Lerøy and SalMar benefit from profits made by SSF, the company’s harvest volumes are not consolidated into their production figures.
