Short-term and long-term targets reaffirmed and sustainable growth platform beyond 2026 well established
Grieg Seafood is hosting a Capital Markets Day outside Stavanger, Norway 15 June under the headline “Farming the ocean for a better future”.
Grieg Seafood has farmed salmon for almost three decades and the company is today one of the world’s leading salmon farmers. The Grieg Seafood operations are concentrated in Norway and Canada. The ocean has the potential to provide low impact food for generations to come and sustainable farming practices are the foundation of the company’s operations.
Grieg Seafood today confirmed its growth ambitions with a target of annual harvest volume of 90 000 tonnes in 2022 and 120-135 000 tonnes in 2026 depending on successful utilization of current capacity, available expansion opportunities and new concepts. Newfoundland represents the company’s new growth area and Grieg Seafood is today building a platform for further sustainable growth beyond 2026 on the east coast of Canada.
Grieg Seafood’s operational and financial targets presented at the capital markets day today are:
- Harvest volume of 90 000 tonnes in 2022: Increasing harvest volumes to 120-135 000 tonnes in 2025
- Maintain a clear ambition to be a cost leader in all the regions where Grieg Seafood operates
- A long-term target of net interest-bearing debt to harvest volume ratio of NOK 30/kg
- An equity ratio of above 31%
- Requirement of a minimum of 12% return on capital employed (ROCE) for all investment decisions
- Dividend policy to distribute 30%-40% of the Group’s net profit after tax adjusted for fair value appraisals
The Group’s objective is to give shareholders a competitive return on invested capital through dividend payments and appreciation in the value of the share, at a level at least equivalent to other companies with comparable risk. Any future dividend will depend on the Group’s future earnings, financial situation, and cash flow. The Board believes that the dividend paid should keep pace with the Group’s profit growth, while at the same time ensuring that equity remains at a healthy and optimal level. In addition, the Board must ensure that there are adequate financial resources to pave the way for future growth and investment and meet its desire to minimize capital costs. The Board has adopted a dividend policy whereby the average dividend, over a period of several years, should correspond to 30-40% of profit after tax before fair value adjustment of biological assets.
Furthermore, although a net interest-bearing debt per harvested kg of up to NOK 30 is considered reasonable, it may be exceeded in periods of growth-related investments. Based on this, the size of the dividend could be adjusted within the margin set out above.
On the foundation of sustainability which represents Grieg Seafood’s license to operate, the three pillars in the Grieg strategy are as follows:
- Global growth. Grieg Seafood will grow the business in a responsible way towards an ambition to reach annual harvest of 120-135 000 tonnes. Growth will come from improved utilization of current capacity, expansion opportunities and new concepts.
- Cost improvement. Grieg Seafood will maintain the relentless focus on cost improvement. The post-smolt will improve biology, fish welfare and growth while preventative measures and further digitalization through precision farming will work in the same direction.
- Value chain repositioning. Grieg Seafood will improve and stabilize group earnings through optimization of collaboration, value added processing and brand development together with strategic partners.
“Grieg Seafood has succeeded in delivering on our ambitions communicated on our latest capital markets update despite the fact that the past couple of years have been rife with upheaval. Today, sustainability is a core tenet of Grieg Seafood’s strategy and the three pillars; global growth, cost improvement and value chain repositioning remain our focus areas,” said CEO Andreas Kvame.
“Going forward, we are ready to use our existing business in Norway and British Columbia together with our new growth platform in Newfoundland to bring Grieg Seafood to the next level. Based on our long experience and strong expertise and highly skilled employees, I am convinced this will be a journey worth being a part of.”
