Lerøy Seafood Group (LSG) achieved a turnover of EUR 467.2 million and operating profit before value adjustments related to biological assets was EUR 69.2 million in the third quarter of 2018.
“The biological production in the third quarter has been good,” said CEO Henning Beltestad. “Our harvest volume was low but we’ve capitalised on the good level of production with a significant increase in the biomass for subsequent harvesting. As previously communicated, the low volume means lower earnings for the quarter.
However, we’ve paved the way for good earnings and a continuing positive development in release from stock costs going forward. We’re experiencing high demand for our high-quality seafood, the market is strong, and we maintain our outlook for a harvest volume in Norway of 166,000 tonnes this year.”
The aquaculture segment achieved an EBIT / kg of EUR 1.6.
“Significant investments are currently being made in the Farming segment,” said CEO Henning Beltestad. “The new industrial facility in Lerøy Midt is now operational, and we have high hopes that this will strengthen the Group’s competitiveness throughout its integrated value chain. The building of RAS facilities for larger high-quality smolt in both Lerøy Aurora and Lerøy Sjøtroll is also proceeding according to plan,” Beltestad added.
Within VAP (processing), sales and distribution, the company posted an operating profit of EUR 7.5 million, falling from EUR 11,6 million in Q3 2017.
“The volatile spot prices for salmon remain challenging for processing operations, but we expect our new factories in Spain and the Netherlands to help make the Group’s production and distribution even more efficient. The Group is proud to be a preferred partner for demanding, high-calibre partners, not just internationally but also in the Norwegian grocery market,” Beltestad said.
The current estimate for 2019 harvest volume, including the share of LSG’s volume from associates, is 190,000 tons.
