The Scottish Salmon Company delivers strong Q1 results

Net operating revenue exceeded expectations for Q1 totalling £25.4m (£24.1m) achieved on sales of 5,954 tonnes (6,407 tonnes) of harvested salmon. Profits were £6.6m for the quarter, similar to the same quarter in 2010 but on lower volume.

Good biological performance in Q1 means that The Scottish Salmon Company is anticipating that it will now exceed predicted harvest volumes for 2011. It is estimated that, taking into consideration the current farming cycles, Q1 performance and prospects for Q2, that the harvest volumes for 2011 will be between 3- 5 per cent above the 22,000 tonnes target.

With long-term contracts with key partners in place going forward, the company is now building its market position from a secure and prestigious customer base, both domestically and overseas.

The successful Q1 follows a record year for The Scottish Salmon Company in 2010 that saw turnover reach £92.4m.

The Scottish Salmon Company is a principal player in the Scottish aquaculture industry responsible for approximately 20 per cent of Scottish salmon production. It’s recently opened Marybank processing plant in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis is one of only a few facilities to produce high quality pre-rigour pin-bone-out fillets. Operational since late 2010 filleting is now running at more than 50 per cent of capacity.

Bill Hazeldean, Chief Executive of The Scottish Salmon Company said: “The market has remained strong in early 2011, our new generation of stock currently being harvested has performed exceptionally well, with customer feedback extremely positive on both the yield and quality parameters. We have secured new long terms contracts and we are opening up export markets. This gives us a springboard for the rest of the year.”