Austevoll Seafood reported first-quarter 2026 EBITDA of NOK 1,985 million (€182.6 million), ahead of FactSet consensus estimates of NOK 1,796 million (€165.2 million) and above Fearnley Securities’ estimate of NOK 1,629 million (€149.9 million).
The earnings outperformance was driven by the group’s South American operations. Chilean subsidiary FoodCorp delivered EBITDA of NOK 304 million (€28.0 million), compared with consensus expectations of NOK 154 million (€14.2 million). Peruvian subsidiary Austral posted EBITDA of NOK 283 million (€26.0 million), against consensus of NOK 102 million (€9.4 million).
Lerøy Seafood Group contributed NOK 1,346 million (€123.8 million), broadly in line with consensus forecasts of NOK 1,318 million (€121.3 million).
Austral reduced its 2026 own-catch volume guidance to 289,000 tonnes from 334,000 tonnes following a lower first-season Peruvian quota of 1.9 million tonnes, down from 3.0 million tonnes a year earlier. Purchased volume guidance was also cut to 183,000 tonnes from 194,000 tonnes. The company said higher prices had partly offset lower expected volumes.
FoodCorp maintained own-catch guidance of 135,000 tonnes and slightly increased purchased volume guidance to 49,000 tonnes from 48,000 tonnes, although catch volumes weakened in March and remained soft into the second quarter.
Pelagia, Austevoll’s 50%-owned joint venture, reiterated 2026 raw material intake guidance of 802,000 tonnes for meal and oil operations and 257,000 tonnes for dried herring concentrate.
Fearnley Securities said it expects consensus EBITDA estimates for 2026 to rise by 4% to 6% following the quarterly results, partly offset by Austral’s lower catch outlook. The bank maintained a Hold recommendation and NOK 100 (€9.20) target price on the stock. Austevoll shares had declined 13% in the four weeks before the results release.
Net interest-bearing debt stood at NOK 9,745 million (€896.5 million) at the end of the quarter, above Fearnley’s estimate of NOK 8,816 million (€811.1 million), driven by a larger-than-expected build in working capital.