– Throughout the quarter we have seen all-time high prizes, providing a solid basis for profitability and a very positive market view for salmon in the future. Unfortunately, we have had biological challenges in both Norway and Iceland that significantly affected the results in this quarter. On the positive side, we now have full production at our new smolt plant, which is a very important step for NRS to manage the future growth plans, says interim CEO Charles Høstlund.

At the end of the first quarter, NRS has a solid financial position with MNOK 1 380 in unutilised credit facilities and MNOK 160 in bank deposits. A positive EBITDA and reduced working capital explain the decrease in interest-bearing debt of MNOK 338 to MNOK 2 244 in the first quarter. The equity was MNOK 4 520 at the end of the quarter, which equates an equity ratio of 55 %.

Farming Norway

Farming Norway posted an operational EBIT of MNOK 210.3 in the quarter, compared with MNOK 77.2 in the corresponding quarter last year. Operational EBIT per kg gutted weight was NOK 25.30 compared with NOK 6.04 in the corresponding quarter last year. Farming Norway harvested 10 137 tonnes gutted weight in the quarter, a decrease of 13 % from the same quarter last year. Sold volume from the sales business in the quarter was 17 568 tonnes salmon, which is 18 % lower than in the corresponding quarter last year.

Farming Iceland

Farming Iceland posted an operational EBIT of MNOK 86.3 in the quarter, compared with MNOK 21.5 in the corresponding quarter last year. Operational EBIT per kg gutted weight was NOK 20.43 compared with NOK 5.67 in the corresponding quarter last year. Farming Iceland harvested 4 221 tonnes gutted weight in the quarter, an increase of 11 % from the corresponding quarter last year.

In the first quarter of 2022, Arctic Fish experienced big biological challenges with high mortality at two sites. Measures were taken to deal with this efficiently and to minimize the cost, among other things by accelerating the harvest of salmon at these two localities. The total mortality was 2 512 tonnes LW and resulted in a non-recurring cost of MNOK 129 million in the first quarter of 2022.

– NRS believes that sustainable salmon production is very important for our long -term economic value creation. The production of fish delivered from the new smolt facility and the phasing out of triploid fish are expected to lead to a decrease in production costs, increased profitability and fewer biological challenges, says Charles Høstlund.