Regal quarter for NRS
Norway Royal Salmon (NRS) has reported its highest ever quarterly operational EBIT and margins for a fourth quarter.
Operational EBIT for Q4 2016 was MNOK 101 and EBIT per kg was NOK 26.83, up from MNOK 91 and NOK 12.63 in the same quarter last year, and the board has proposed a dividend of NOK 9.50 per share.
“In the accounts for 2016 we passed two milestones. One is that the yearly profit after tax is NOK 1 billion and the second is that the equity is NOK 2 billion,” says CEO Charles Høstlund.
The company’s operations in Region North posted an operational EBIT of MNOK 75.2 in the quarter, compared with MNOK 98.9 in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Operational EBIT per kg gutted weight before fixed price contracts was NOK 35.65, compared with NOK 14.54 in Q4 2015.
Operations in Region South posted an operational EBIT of MNOK 50.7 in the quarter, compared with MNOK 5.2 in Q4 2015. Operational EBIT per kg gutted weight before fixed price contracts was NOK 31.26, compared with NOK 3.63.
In terms of volumes, NRS harvested 4,692 tonnes gutted weight during the quarter, 43 per cent less than in the same quarter of 2015. 2,612 tonnes of the total volume were harvested in Region North and 2,081 tonnes in Region South. Estimated harvest volume is 34,000 tonnes for 2017, an increase of 27 per cent from 2016.
“The price of salmon in the quarter was the highest price recorded in a quarter for the last 20 years. For 2017 we expect an increase in the supply to the global market of 1 to 3 per cent. This provides the basis for a positive market outlook for 2017,” says Høstlund.
The group owns 35 fish farming licences, and is a minority shareholder in three Norwegian fish farming companies which together own an additional ten fish farming licenses, as well as Arctic Fish on Iceland.
