Global salmon farming giant Mowi has announced record third quarter revenues of £884million as demand for its products continued to rise following the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions.
The Norway-based company’s operational earnings before income tax (Ebit) for the three months also leapt to £112m from £68m in the same period last year.
In Scotland, where Mowi operates more than two dozen fish farm sites in the Highlands and Islands, its quarterly operational Ebit more than doubled to £11.4m, from £4.9m year-on-year, although its harvest volume was down.
The group, which is the world’s largest farmed fish producer, also has operations in Norway, Canada, the Faroe Islands, Ireland and Chile.
It said there had been a “significant rebound” in salmon prices compared to last year, as retail demand remained at strong levels and foodservice activity improved further.
Mowi’s chief executive, Ivan Vindheim, said: “It’s positive to see that the salmon market continues on the road to full recovery.
“The estimated value of salmon consumed globally in the third quarter increased by more than 30% compared with last year and reached a new record-high level for a quarter.
“This is particularly impressive given that not all markets have yet fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Mr Vindheim added: “Mowi has a clear strategy to grow and Mowi Farming’s harvest capacity is well in excess of 500 000 tonnes.
“It’s therefore encouraging to see that we are heading towards another record year for farming volumes in 2021.”
Harvest volumes down in Scotland
Across Mowi’s Scottish sites the harvest volume for the third quarter was 14,968 tonnes, gutted weight, down from 16,114 in the same period last year.
The company said that, following high harvest volumes in the first half of the year, levels were reduced “in order to build biomass.”
It added that “biology,” or fish health, at its Scottish operations had “in general improved,” with higher survival rates and improved harvest weights.
Cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS) remained at “relatively high” levels, but there had been a “notable reduction” in pancreas disease (PD) levels.
Mowi said that, during the third quarter, fish health at “high-energy sites” in the Hebrides had been “challenged” by gill issues, combined with seasonally low oxygen levels.
The company added that incident based mortality losses in Scotland during the three months amounted to £3m, compared to £3.7m in the same period last year.
Earlier this year, Mowi announced it was aiming to halve the number of flights taken by its staff by cutting out “unnecessary trips.”