Record Breaking Results from Austevoll Seafood

The Group's operating result before depreciation and value adjustment of biomass (EBITDA) for Q1 2010 was NOK 431 million compared with NOK 337 million in Q1 2009.

Austevoll says that the first quarter has seen good prices for canned products, frozen products, fishmeal and fish oil, Atlantic salmon and salmon trout.

As is normal for the first quarter, production was good for fishmeal and fish oil, and for the pelagic consumption segment in Europe. Lower volumes of fish were caught for human consumption production both in Chile and Peru in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same quarter last year. This brought about lower sales volumes during the quarter.

However prices for fishmeal were higher than the first quarter in 2009 On 27 February 2010, an earthquake was registered with its epicentre around 90 km northwest of the city of Concepción in Chile. The earthquake measured 8.8 on the Richter scale. Austevoll Seafood (AUSS) undertakes a considerable number of activities and employs many staff in Chile. The Group has land-based operations in the city of Coronel, south of the earthquake’s epicentre.

"We are grateful and relieved that none of our employees lost their lives in the earthquake, and our main priority in the weeks following the earthquake has been the wellbeing of our employees, as well as assessing the extent of material damage.

"Our fishing vessels have escaped unscathed but there has been some damage to land-based production facilities, with the frozen fish plant the worst affected. The coastal fleet started landing fish on 17 March and the company’s own vessels resumed operations in late March. Initially, production comprised fishmeal, fish oil and canned goods. The plant for production of frozen goods was ready beginning of May," said the company.