Bergen, Norway-based Mowi has reported record third-quarter revenues as demand for salmon continues to recover in the wake of global COVID-19 lockdown measures.
The company reported Q3 revenue of EUR 1.04 billion (USD 1.19 billion), and operational earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 131 million (USD 151 million), an increase of EUR 51 million (USD 59 million) over Q3 2020 – but a slight decrease from its Q2 2021 EBIT of EUR 137 million (USD 158 million).
“It’s positive to see that the salmon market continues on the road to full recovery,” Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim said in a release. “The estimated value of salmon consumed globally in the third quarter increased by more than 30 percent 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.”
The company’s year-to-date operational revenue is trending ahead of 2020 as well. In total, the company’s revenue and other income reached EUR 3.05 billion (USD 3.5 billion) year-to-date in 2021, compared to EUR 2.75 billion (USD 3.1 billion) year-to-date in 2020.
Vindheim highlighted the company’s consumer products division as a bright spot in the quarter – it posted its strongest Q3 earnings ever.
“This demonstrates strong retail demand in the market and also our ability to serve new and existing customers across geographies. Mowi Consumer Products has been able to benefit from and capitalise on the shift in demand towards elaborated products,” Vindheim said.
The company’s total harvest volume for the quarter was 117,115 metric tons (MT) gutted-weight, above the guidance of 110,000 MT, due to “good growth conditions in Norway,” the company said.
“A combination of favorable sea water temperatures in advance of the summer, generally improved biological performance and high feed consumption led to good growth,” the company said in its Q3 report. The positive conditions led Norway’s harvest to be 15 percent higher than the same period in 2020.
The company said that harvest guidance for 2021 has been increased to 455,000 MT, equivalent to 15,000 MT of volume growth year-over-year.
“Mowi has a clear strategy to grow and Mowi Farming’s harvest capacity is well in excess of 500,000 MT. It’s therefore encouraging to see that we are heading towards another record year for farming volumes in 2021,” Vindheim said.
The company’s Q3 report indicates that globally, consumption increased by 6 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2020. Prices, as well, increased by a company estimate of 25 percent compared to last year, “hence the global value of salmon consumed reached a new record-high level,” Mowi said.
“This is particularly impressive given that not all markets have fully recovered yet from the COVID-19 pandemic. Foodservice demand in general continued to improve during the quarter and retail demand was still above pre-COVID-19 levels,” the company said.
Consumption in Europe increased by 4 percent in the quarter compared to 2020, which consumption in both the U.S. and Asia jumped by 11 percent. The grown in Asia, Mowi said, was attributable to strong growth in the Chinese/Hong Kong markets – and the recovery of Norwegian salmon’s reputation in the wake of claims of a link between salmon and a COVID-19 outbreak in a Chinese market.
“Although the Chinese market has not fully recovered yet from the pandemic and some logistical challenges exist, Norwegian export volumes to China have recovered to pre-pandemic levels and consumer confidence in salmon has gradually been restored,” Mowi said.
Photo courtesy of Mowi
