Board of directors has changed its dividend policy.
The dividend has been an important component of Mowi’s financial strategy and to make dividend payments more predictable and transparent the board has decided to operationalise the dividend policy by introducing ordinary and extraordinary dividends. Mowi’s ambition is to create long-term value for the shareholder through both positive share price development and a growing dividend in line with long-term earnings.
Quarterly ordinary dividends shall under normal circumstances be at least 50 per-cent of underlying earnings per share. Excess capital will be paid out as extraordinary dividends. When deciding excess capital the board of directors will take into consideration expected cash flow, capital expenditure plans, financing requirements and appropriate financial flexibility.
“Further to this a long-term target level for net interest-bearing debt is determined, reviewed and updated on a regular basis,” wrote Mowi in a stock exchange announcement.
Lean
Based on this, the board has decided to pay NOK 0.32 per share in ordinary dividends in the first quarter of 2021, equivalent to 50 per-cent of underlying earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 2020.
With 51 million of shares outstanding, this corresponds to a total dividend of EUR 16 million.
Mowi, as previously communicated in the trading update, earned EUR 49 million on operations in the last quarter of 2020.
The salmon giant had record volumes in all business areas in 2020. The company harvested 440,000 tonnes of salmon, sold 240,000 tonnes of refined products and produced 540,000 tonnes of feed.
The company continued to benefit from the increased demand for consumer products, setting a new production record for the consumer products unit for the quarter and for the full year. Similarly, the feed unit delivered very good results and record-high volumes.
More than ever
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues at Mowi for delivering record-high volumes in all divisions in an extremely challenging year. At the same time we have managed to keep everyone safe during the Covid-19 pandemic so far by employing the strictest biosecurity measures across our business,” said Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim.
Mowi has produced more value-added products than ever through its downstream facilities, and the development in the retail market continues to be strong.
“The pandemic still impacts out-of-home consumption to a large degree, and although retail sales are strong and offset some of the demand shortfall, overall demand was down by approximately 5 per-cent. However, we still strongly believe in the positive long-term market outlook for the industry. A significant share of new customers in retail are expected to permanently increase their retail consumption rates post Covid-19, even as the foodservice segment gradually re-opens in due course,” said Vindheim.
Mowi reported operating income and other income of EUR 1,008 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Total farming volumes in the quarter were 126,634 tonnes. The forecast for farmed volumes for 2021 is unchanged at 445,000 tonnes.
