Industry – July 15, 2026
Analysts: Mowi’s surprise cost gains point to higher profits ahead
Mowi's stronger-than-expected second-quarter trading update was driven primarily by lower farming costs rather than higher harvest volumes, with analysts expecting positive earnings revisions.
Arctic Securities described the update as "very strong", noting that blended farming costs of EUR 5.21 per kg were the lowest since the third quarter of 2022 and well below its EUR 5.52 per kg forecast.
"The trading update shows that it is farming cost/kg which is the reason for the positive deviation versus our figures," analysts Christian Olsen Nordby and Kristoffer Haugland wrote.
The bank highlighted particularly strong performances in Scotland, Canada and the Faroe Islands, while Chile was the only major farming region to materially disappoint expectations. It added that the lower cost base should ease investor concerns over rising fishmeal and fish oil prices and forecast Mowi's shares could rise around 3% on the update.
SEB also said the quarter came in well ahead of expectations, with operational EBIT 17% above its own forecast and 14% ahead of consensus. The bank estimated the stronger second quarter would lift its full-year 2026 EBIT forecast by around 3% and said the combination of higher harvest volumes and lower farming costs should support further outperformance in the shares.
Handelsbanken likewise expects positive revisions to consensus earnings estimates following the earnings beat. It said Norway and Scotland accounted for most of the year-on-year increase in operational EBIT, while Chile remained the weakest-performing farming region.
All three banks retained Buy recommendations on the stock, with Handelsbanken maintaining a NOK 240 price target and SEB a NOK 230 target.
Fearnley Securities also expects analysts to raise their full-year forecasts, estimating that consensus 2026 EBIT could increase by 4–5% following the stronger-than-expected quarter. The broker said the combination of higher harvest volumes and lower farming costs suggested "the trough is near for negative estimate revisions" after a series of earnings downgrades this year.
