"Marine Harvest delivered strong earnings in the quarter. I am pleased that the targeted strategy of reducing the dependency of spot prices paid off during the recent drop in salmon prices. As a consequence of the good results, the board has resolved a quarterly dividend of NOK 1.10 per share," said Marine Harvest CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog.
Marine Harvest Group reported operational revenues and other income of NOK 6,202 million (NOK 4,307 million) in the third quarter of 2014. Total harvest volumes were 107,333 tonnes in the quarter (80,921 tonnes).
Harvest guidance for 2014 is unchanged at 414,000 tonnes. Harvest guidance for 2015 is 430,000 tonnes, excluding the expected 15 000 tonnes production in Acuinova.
"I would like to highlight our new feed factory. The successful startup of our first feed plant is a milestone for Marine Harvest in our effort to be a leader in the three areas fish feed production, farming and value added processing. I'm proud to say the factory is profitable from the first quarter of operations," said Mr Aarskog.
Salmon of Norwegian origin achieved an operational EBIT per kilo of NOK 9.71 (NOK 9.96) in the third quarter, while salmon of Scottish and Canadian origin reported operational EBIT per kilo of NOK 9.95 and NOK 4.70 respectively (NOK 16.47 and NOK 10.92).
Salmon of Chilean origin achieved an operational EBIT per kilo of NOK 6.06 (NOK 1.68).
The figures include contribution from Sales and Marketing, including VAP Europe and Morpol Processing.
Marine Harvest VAP Europe reported an operational EBIT of NOK -27 million compared to NOK -11 million in the third quarter of 2013. Morpol Processing reported an operational EBIT of NOK 71 million.
"We have also strengthened our position in Chile with an agreement to buy 40 000 tonnes integrated farming capacity. The yield is expected to be 15 000 tonnes in 2015. This is an important step in the consolidation of the salmon industry in Chile," said Mr Aarskog.
