According to a news release from the company, Mowi sold a record 248,000 tonnes of value-added products in 2021.
The recovery in demand for salmon continued in the fourth quarter of 2021 with significantly higher prices year-over-year. With this backdrop, Mowi tripled its earnings with an operational EBIT of €146 million in the quarter.
“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,” Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim said.
In Norway, Mowi’s largest and most important farming region, the company produced a record-high 273,000 tonnes of salmon in 2021.
“I am very pleased that our license 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.
Mowi also produced more value-added products than ever through its downstream facilities in 2021, and 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.
Mowi has for the third year in a row topped the Coller FAIRR Index that ranks the world’s largest animal protein producers on sustainability.
“Sustainability is deeply engrained in the Mowi culture and at the heart of everything we do. This is very encouraging and demonstrates that Mowi is at the forefront when it comes to sustainable food production,” Vindheim said.
Mowi reported operational EBIT of €146 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with €49 million in the corresponding quarter in 2020. Operational revenues in the quarter were record-high at €1.150 billion (€1.008 billion). Total harvest volume in the quarter of 115,040 tonnes gutted weight (126,634 tonnes) was above guidance of 104,000 tonnes mainly due to good growth conditions in Norway.
Mowi’s Board has decided to pay a quarterly dividend of NOK 1.40 per share, consisting of NOK 1.00 per share in ordinary dividend and an extraordinary dividend of NOK 0.40 per share supported by a strong financial position and a favourable outlook.