Salmon farmer Mowi ASA harvested 120,500 tonnes of gutted weight equivalent (GWE) fish in the fourth-quarter of 2022, up from 115,000 tonnes in Q4 2021, and 3,500 tonnes more than its guided forecast for the three-month period of 127,000 tonnes.
For the full year 2022, 464,000 tonnes of salmon were harvested – down 2,00 tonnes on the previous year.
According to the Norway-headquartered group’s latest trading update, its total harvested volume in the last quarter of 2022 comprised 87,000 tonnes from Norway (71,000 tonnes in Q4 2021), 10,500 tonnes from Scotland (12,000 tonnes in Q4 2021), 11,000 tonnes from Canada (10,000 tonnes in Q4 2021), 18,500 tonnes from Chile (16,500 tonnes in Q4 2021), 500 tonnes from Ireland (1,500 tonnes in Q4 2021) and 3,000 tonnes from the Faroes (4,000 tonnes in Q4 2021).
The operational EBIT of salmon of Norwegian origin climbed to €2.30 per kg from €1.75 in Q4 2021. Operational EBIT improvements were also seen in its salmon of Scottish, Chilean, Canadian and Faroese origin, which amounted to €0.70, €1.10, €1.50 and €1.75 per kg respectively. Mowi also highlighted that the operational EBIT of its Canada West segment increased to €2.15 per kg.
Mowi achieved operational earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of approximately €239 million in the fourth-quarter, representing an upturn of €93 million on the corresponding period of 2021.
Operational EBIT in its Consumer Products segment was €42 million (€26 million in Q4 2021) and €17 million in its Feed segment 2022 (€8 million in Q4 2021).
Mowi advised that Operational EBIT through the value chain for its salmon of Irish origin was €-5 million, with the business negatively impacted by very low volumes and challenging biology.
Its reported financial net interest-bearing debt (NIBD) was approximately €1.76 billion (USD 1.4 billion at the end of the quarter, of which €70 million is related to the purchase of 51.28% of the shares in Arctic Fish, one of the leading salmon farmers in Iceland.
The NIBD excluding the acquisition of Arctic Fish is €1.51 billion, while the working capital tie-up was approximately €225 million in the quarter, mainly related to temporary items including inventory and accounts receivable in Sales & Marketing.
Arctic Fish’s financial position is consolidated with effect from the fourth-quarter (29 December 2022). Its P&L will be incorporated from the first-quarter of 2023.
Mowi’s complete Q4 2022 report will be released on 15 February 2023.
