'It wouldn’t hurt to reduce the complexity by a notch or two'
Mowi chief executive Ivan Vindheim has explained why the vertically integrated salmon farmer is considering the possibility of selling its feed department
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Mowi chief executive Ivan Vindheim has elaborated on the reasons for initiating a strategic review that may result in the sale of its feed division, reports Fish Farming Expert's Norwegian sister site, Kyst.no.
The review was announced in a stock exchange release on March 4.
“In just a few years, Mowi has grown from a 400,000-tonne fish farmer to approaching 600,000 tonnes, with production in seven countries and 11 fish farming regions, with all the complexity that entails,” Vindheim said in the announcement on Tuesday.
“Mowi also has extensive processing operations in 26 countries. In order to streamline operations, we therefore believe that the time is ripe to consider how our feed division should be organised in the future.”
Vindheim spoke about the review at the North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF) in Bergen today, pointing out that the synergies between feed production and farming have not always been as clear in practice as in theory.
“One could say that it wouldn’t hurt to reduce the complexity of our business model by a notch or two,” the CEO said.
Don't count your chickens...
Mowi currently produces its own feed at factories at Valsneset in Norway and Kyleakin on Skye in Scotland and is self-sufficient in Europe, while in the Americas it purchases feed externally. With a growth strategy that has led to a sharp increase in production, the company is now considering whether it is more appropriate to separate from the feed division.
Vindheim emphasised that all options are still open, and that the company may choose to retain Mowi Feed if it proves to be the best option.
“We shouldn’t count our chickens before they’re hatched,” he said.
“It is still early in the process, and we can always choose to continue producing our own feed if it turns out to be the right thing.”
There is currently no timeline set for when the strategic review will be completed.
