Iceland’s Arctic Fish made an operational profit or EBIT of €3.2 million (£2.7m) in 2023, the first full year under Mowi’s ownership.
This is despite serious escapement issues last summer that led to a backlash in Iceland against open pen salmon farming.
The company said the financial biological performance improved somewhat after a very difficult third quarter when the escapes took place.
The harvest volume in the fourth quarter was 2,529 tons gutted weight in the fourth quarter. The positive deviation compared to guided volumes is mainly due to good production.
The harvest volume for the entire year of 11,878 tons is an all-time high for Arctic Fish.
The company said in the fourth quarter, price achievement was “negatively impacted by temporary logistics issues. “
It’s not just Scotland and parts of Norway that have biological problems. Iceland was also affected and Arctic Fish said its operating performance in the last quarter, and the year as a whole, was marked by a challenging autumn with lice problems.
But it added: “However the biology is now good with low mortality and reasonably good growth given the prevailing seawater temperature. Expenses in the quarter were positively impacted by insurance income.
“The basic processing cost for Arctic Fish is much higher than other Mowi farming operations. “
Its new main processing facility in Bolungarvík is now fully operational and all of the company’s volumes were harvested at the plant in the last quarter.
“Therefore, Arctic Fish is no longer dependent on external harvesting capacity and the Bolungarvík processing plant is expected to improve operational efficiency and cost levels over time,” the report said.
“Our clear goal is to develop Arctic Fish into a streamlined and cost-effective operation. This includes improved lice strategy and treatment capacity which is a priority for the company. In addition, the bureaucracy around the -treatment approval authorities should be streamlined.”
Arctic Fish said it expected costs to increase in the first quarter on seasonally lower volumes.
