Ivan Vindheim: "For 2022, price prospects for salmon are favourable with no supply growth expected for the year. Mowi is in a good position to capitalise on this." Photo: Mowi.

Record revenues and harvest volume for Mowi in 2021

The world’s biggest salmon farmer, Mowi, earned record revenues of €4.208 billion (£3.533 bn) on a record harvest volume of 466,000 gutted weight tonnes last year, equivalent to a growth of 12% and 6% respectively.

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It also sold a record-high 248,000 tonnes of value-added products during the year, it said in a report for the fourth quarter of 2021.

Operating profit for Q4 tripled to €145.8 million from €49.4m in the same period in 2020, and operating profit for the year increased from €337.7m in 2020 to €522.6m in 2021. Net profit increased from €119.1m in 2020 to €512.1m last year.

Mowi harvested 115,000 gwt in Q4 last year, 11,000 gwt more than guided, largely as a result of good growth in Norway.

Click on image to enlarge. Table: Mowi Q4 2021 report.

Dedication and hard work

“I would like to thank all my 12,000 colleagues at Mowi for their dedication and hard work during 2021, in a challenging pandemic environment,” said Mowi chief executive Ivan Vindheim.

In Norway, Mowi’s largest farming region, the company produced a record-high 273,000 tonnes of salmon in 2021.

“I am very pleased that our licence utilisation in Norway has improved over the past few years to exceed the industry average. This has laid the foundation for reaching all-time high harvest volumes of 466,000 tonnes,” Vindheim said.

VAP record

Mowi also produced more value-added products than ever through its downstream facilities in 2021 and said the development in the retail market continues to be strong.

“The growth in demand for value-added products during the pandemic has been unparalleled, and volumes remain at a very high level. For 2022, price prospects for salmon are favourable with no supply growth expected for the year. Mowi is in a good position to capitalise on this with its diverse and integrated value chain and low contract share,” Vindheim said.

Looking ahead, Mowi’s board of directors wrote that further productivity improvements are still possible, particularly in South, West and Mid Norway regions.

‘Well beyond 500,000 tonnes’

“Although harvest volume guidance for 2022 is 460,000 gwt, intrinsic harvest capacity for Mowi Farming is well beyond 500,000 gwt and harvest volumes are expected to approach this level during the next few years,” the board said.

The directors said Mowi’s feed plants in Norway and Scotland had a good Q4 from an operational performance and production volume perspective, but added that higher raw material costs for vegetable oils, soy and wheat gluten increased impacted margins negatively. “Going forward the Board expects the Feed division to grow volumes at least in line with feed requirements from the Farming segment.”

Mowi’s capital expenditure budget for 2022 is approximately €300m, somewhat impacted by pandemic induced project delays in 2021.

“The majority of the investments will be allocated to the Farming segment,” wrote the board. “Post-smolt investments in Norway continue and several freshwater-related upgrades are in the pipeline. Selected seawater expansions across our farming footprint will also be undertaken.

“Furthermore, Consumer Products expects to undertake several automation and packaging technology projects in Europe, US and in Asia, in addition to selected skin-pack line extensions and equipment upgrades.”