Cooke Scotland's net profit fell by 49% last year
Lower salmon prices cut earnings from £12m to £6.1m despite higher harvest volume
The net profit of salmon farmer Cooke Scotland fell by 49% from £12 million in 2024 to £6.1m last year despite increased sales volumes, its newly released annual report shows.
The net profit of its immediate parent company, Cooke Aquaculture UK Holdings Ltd, fell by 60% from £11.2m in 2024 to £4.5m. Both companies belong to Canadian family-owned seafood company Cooke Inc.
Lower salmon prices were the primary cause of the reduced profits. Turnover for Cooke Scotland decreased marginally to £225m (2024: £226m) last year, with larger sales volumes being offset by the price fall. Cost of sales increased 4% to £194m (2024: £187m), largely driven by the increase in volumes sold, with costs fairly flat after the significant increases in previous years. Cooke did not give a figure for its 2025 harvest volume.
“The fluctuations in raw material costs and utility costs will have an impact on the cost of the feed purchased through a fellow sister company, Northeast Nutrition Scotland Limited; feed is one of the company’s main costs,” wrote the Cooke Scotland directors in the report as they highlighted some of the risk factors entailed in farming salmon.
“The cost of fuel also impacts on costs to run the fleet of boats employed in the business mainly through the harvest and wellboats used.”
Earned more in UK
By region, turnover rose to £86.1m (2024: £78.1m) in the UK, and to £34.2m(£26m) in Europe (excluding France), but fell to £56.4m (£65.7m) in France, to £27.7m (£30.5m) in the United States, to £19.8m (£23m) in Canada, and to £0.7m (£2.8m) in the rest of the world.
Operating profit was £2.8m in 2025, down from £3.2m the year before. Pre-tax profit was £9m, down from £16.1m, and tax was £3m, down from £4.1m in 2024.
Cooke Scotland’s biological stock (fish) was valued at £111.8m at the end of 2025, compared to £113m at the end of 2024.
The farming company’s wage and pension costs totalled £15.1m for 333 staff, compared with £14.8m for 327 staff in 2024.
Despite the lower 2025 profit, directors recommended paying a dividend of £10m to its owners. There was no dividend paid in 2024.
Holding company
Cooke Aquaculture UK Holdings reported that it continued to invest in research and development activities in 2025 to support its strategic objective of improving the health and welfare of the fish and test advancements in technology.
Total expenditure on R&D for the year amounted to £11.4m (2024: £16.1m). A similar level of R&D investment was planned for 2026.
The holding company had turnover of £232m (£233m) and made a gross profit of £29.3m (£38m). Operating profit was £14.7m (£24m).
