The world's publicly listed salmon companies, in general, turned in black numbers in the first quarter of the year, but based on earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) per kilo, some clear winners stood out among the players.

IntraFish compared the first quarter results for companies listed on the Oslo stock exchange and the first half results for Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges in 2019. The figures are not necessarily comparable due to the companies’ different practices and what was included from sales and value-added processing in the reported results.

Region to region

Even within companies, results can vary dramatically by region. For example, Mowi reports results from farming operations in six different countries: Norway, Scotland, Canada, Chile, Ireland and the Faroes. Of those operations, the group’s organic operation in Ireland yielded the best EBIT of €4.38 ($4.90) per kilo. Canada was the weakest country in the first quarter for the company at EBIT/kg of €1.41 ($1.60).

By comparison, Grieg came in second in its Norwegian salmon production efficiency, with its Rogaland region operations reporting a result of €2.57 ($2.90) per kilo and Finnmark operations reporting a result of €2.54 ($2.90) per kilo because of better biological performance. However, Grieg operations in Shetland struggled with losses of €1.41 ($1.60) per kilo due to gill-related diseases and winter ulcers.

Like Mowi, Grieg struggled in British Columbia, with EBIT/kg plummeting about €1 ($1.12) compared to last year.

SalMar achieved an average result of €2.31 ($2.60) per kilo across Norway, with Norway Royal Salmon reporting a similar EBIT of €2.28 ($2.60) per kilo. Lower harvest volumes dragged earnings down for the latter.

A breakdown of the two companies several farm operation shows the larger picture. Northern Norway-based Leroy Aurora operations saw a decrease in EBIT/kg to €2.52 ($2.85), Leroy Midt achieved earnings of €1.93 ($2.18) per kilo, while west Norway-based Leroy Sjotroll saw a dip in earnings to €1.03 ($1.16) per kilo.

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SalMar saw better performance in its central Norway farms, with earnings up to €2.64 ($2.98) compared to its northern Norway farms, which achieved earnings of €2.35 ($2.65) per kilo. The company's subsidiary Arnarlax in Iceland doubled earnings to €1.20 (1.35) per kilo after experiencing losses the previous year.

Despite Grieg reporting losses in Scottish activities, Mowi’s operations in Scotland grew to €2.27 ($2.60) per kilo. The Scottish Salmon Company’s earnings per kilo also decreased during the quarter to €1.98 ($2.20). SalMar-backed company Norskott Havbruk's earnings in Scotland dipped to €2.32 ($2.62) per kilo.

Faroese salmon company Bakkafrost saw a slight decrease in EBIT/kg from the first quarter last year to €2.24 ($2.50), while Mowi’s activities in the Faroe Islands saw flat results of €1.70 ($1.90) per kilo.

Mowi’s operations in Norway saw a mild decrease of €0.19 ($0.21) compared with the same period the year prior. Leroy’s earnings from salmon operations also dipped in the quarter, to €1.80 ($2.00) per kilo.

Earnings in the South mixed

Tasmanian-based Australian salmon farmer Tassal achieved better results in the first half of its fiscal 2019 of €1.84 ($2.10) EBIT/kg driven by increased demand, while Huon Aquaculture saw lower earnings of €1.47 ($1.70) per kilo. The poor financial results came after several climate events hit harvests.

New Zealand-listed NZ King Salmon saw a slight drop in earnings to €2.19 ($2.47) per kilo.

Chilean operations achieved significantly lower earnings per kilo compared with Norway. Mowi’s operations in Chile climbed from the year prior to €1.47 ($1.70), however, the figures were still low compared to activities in other countries.

Salmones Camanchaca saw slightly better results of €1.15 ($1.30) per kilo, due to increased efficiency and lower distribution costs. Australis doubled its earnings to €0.96 ($1.10) per kilo because of better performance in Aysen and Magallanes.

Chilean salmon farmer Multiexport increased earnings around 40 percent in the first quarter to €1.20 ($1.35) per kilo.

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