Icelandic Salmon – Ending a challenging year with a stable biological situation
Bíldudalur, 18 February 2025
Icelandic Salmon is the parent company of Arnarlax and its subsidiaries, which are involved in salmon farming and processing in Iceland. The companies are collectively referred to as “Icelandic Salmon” or the “Group”.
With determined efforts in the fourth quarter of 2024, Icelandic Salmon stabilized the biological conditions in the sea after having experienced significant challenges in the winter-spring 2023‑24, resulting in higher harvest volumes and weights, and good sea lice control.
To further strengthen the Group’s financial position, the group has agreed on an extension to its sustainability-linked financing agreement with DNB and Danske Bank. This agreement provides additional funding of EUR 65 million, increasing the total loan facility to EUR 160 million.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, operating income was EUR 49.9 million, compared to EUR 51.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The decline in revenues year-over-year was mainly driven by lower harvest volumes.
Operational EBIT for the quarter was EUR 1.4 million, compared with EUR 2.0 million in the prior-year period. The decline was driven by lower volumes and cost levels on harvested fish being affected by the biological challenges from last winter. The EBIT/kg for the quarter ended at EUR 0.22. Adjusted for the one-off cost, EBIT/kg was EUR 0.31.
Operations
In the fourth quarter of 2024, Icelandic Salmon harvested 6,455 tonnes, compared to 7,219 tonnes in the same quarter last year. Harvest volumes have increased from the low levels of the previous quarters in 2024.
“Our team’s dedicated efforts have enabled us to end a challenging year on a positive note. We stabilized the biological situation, strengthened sea lice control, and achieved good growth in our biological assets. With increased harvest volume and harvest weight, solid price achievement, and strong performance on smolt released into sea, we are on the right path,” said Björn Hembre, CEO of Icelandic Salmon.
Strategic events
The Group continues to work closely with the authorities to reinstate a license for 10,000 tonnes MAB of sterile salmon in Ísafjarðardjúp, which was revoked in Q3. This happened because the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) did not provide a necessary comprehensive, weighted assessment of the potential risk of the spread of fish diseases and parasites before the license was issued.
Efforts to establish larger sites for improved MAB utilization continue, with extension of several sites in Arnarfjörður under review. The process has been delayed, and a final decision is not expected before the end of 2025. Additionally, a 4,500-tonne application in Arnarfjörður remains under review.
Market update and outlook
Icelandic Salmon continues to experience strong demand for its salmon. It achieved high prices for its products across key markets, where the North American and Asian market were particularly strong.
The company reported an average harvest weight of 5.2 kg GWT for the quarter, well above the Norwegian market average which according to official statistics was 3.9 kg GWT. This solid performance further underscores Icelandic Salmon’s strong market position.
As previously guided, the biological challenges faced in 2024 are expected to impact the the first half of the year and 2025 harvest volumes, with the majority of volume expected in the second half of the year. For full year 2025, Icelandic Salmon maintains its volume guidance of 15,000 tonnes.
Presentation details
Attached is the presentation for the fourth quarter 2024.
The Group’s CEO Bjørn Hembre and CFO Jónas Heiðar Birgisson will be presenting the Group’s results at 9:00 Icelandic time (10:00 CET).
The presentation will be held in English via webcast, please copy and paste the following link into your browser: www.arnarlax.webcast.is (http://www.arnarlax.webcast.is).
There will be a Q&A session after the presentations so you can send in questions during the presentation to questions@arnarlax.is (mailto:questions@arnarlax.is). A recording of the presentation will be made available on the Group’s website. After the presentation there is an opportunity to book a one-on-one meeting either at our office in Kópavogur (Urðarhvarf 14) or on Teams between 10:15 – 15:00 Icelandic time. If interested, please send an email to hjortur@arnarlax.is (mailto:hjortur@arnarlax.is)
For further information, please contact:
CEO Bjørn Hembre
Tel: +354 620 1936
Email: bjorn@arnarlax.is (mailto:bjorn@arnarlax.is)
CFO Jónas Heiðar Birgisson
Tel: +354 855 7760
Email: jonas@arnarlax.is (mailto:jonas@arnarlax.is)
About Icelandic Salmon
Icelandic Salmon is dual-listed on the stock exchange market, both at the Euronext Growth in Oslo and NASDAQ First North in Reykjavík. The Group is the 100% owner of Arnarlax ehf, the leading farming company in Iceland with head office in Bildudalur. The Group is fully integrated, from egg to the fish is delivered to customers in the market, with control over all parts of the value chain.
See https://www.arnarlax.is for more information about the Group.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
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