Lerøy harvested more fish but made less money last year

Salmon and trout farmer Lerøy Seafood Group (LSG), which co-owns Scotland salmon producer Scottish Sea Farms, made an operating profit of NOK 2.502 billion (£193.9 million) last year, down from NOK 2.960bn in 2024, it said in its report for the fourth quarter of 2025 today.

The weaker result was due to lower prices throughout the year, and fell despite the company increasing its annual harvest from 171,00 gutted weight tonnes to 195,600 gwt.

Operating profit in Lerøy’s Norway farming segment fell from NOK 2.258bn in 2024 to NOK 1.303bn last year.

In Q4 last year, LSG made an operating profit of NOK 758m (Q4 2024: NOK 799m), and the Norway farming segment made an operating profit of NOK 564m (NOK 594m).

LSG's value-added products segment made an operating profit of NOK 317m, 15% higher than in Q4 2024. The segment made an operating profit of NOK 1.29bn for the full year.

Robust value chain

“The result reflects good underlying operations across the Group, with solid contributions from Farming and a very strong quarter in the Value-Added Processing, Sales and Distribution (VAP S&D) segment. Although the year has been characterised by low salmon prices, the fourth quarter demonstrates the effect of a robust and fully integrated value chain,” said group chief executive Henning Beltestad.

The group booked a loss of NOK -68m from associated companies and joint ventures (Scottish Sea Farms), which had biological problems that led to a loss for the quarter, as previously reported by co-owner SalMar. Lerøy’s wild catch division also made a loss of NOK -29m.

For 2026, Lerøy expects lower cost per produced kilo in farming compared with 2025. Guided harvest volume in Norway remains unchanged at 195,000 gwt. Total volume this year, including Lerøy’s share of Scottish Sea Farms’ planned 43,000 gwt harvest, is expected to amount to 216,500 gwt.