Challenging market, but Lerøy’s Q3 results are 52% better than what analysts expected

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editorial staff

Significantly better than feared.

Lerøy Seafood Group posted its Q3 results on the Oslo Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Revenue was EUR 450 million, compared with EUR 480 million in the same period the year before. Q3 operating profit was EUR 35 million compared with EUR 47 million in Q3 2019. This was much better than the analysts’ estimate of EUR 23 million.

Lerøy, which has a wild catch segment and salmon farming operations, said that the most significant factor behind the lower earnings were the challenges on the whitefish market.

“2021 is just around the corner, and this is a year when we expect to see the initial effects of our substantial investments in smolt and other improvement measures,” explained CEO Beltestad. “Currently, developments are mainly moving
ahead according to schedule, and we expect to see considerable growth in the harvest volume for redfish in 2021”.

Over the past year, Lerøy has worked with a projected harvest volume in 2020, including associates, of 183,000-188,000 tonnes of salmon and trout.

“Current projections are that the harvest volume will be closer to the lower end of the range, but with somewhat higher biomass in the sea at the end of 2020 than originally planned,” it wrote.

Current projections for 2021 are for a harvest volume, including associates, of 205,000-210,000 tonnes. Harvested volume may obviously be impacted by biological development, but also commercial decisions dependent on expectations for price development.

“Both completed and ongoing investments will provide further growth in the years to come,” it wrote.

“Capacity for flexibility and change is also important for global salmon production. Lerøy is developing its existing business by investing in knowledge and facilities to ensure competitive strengths. Irrespective of the above, the group constantly seeks new knowledge and expertise within both onshore and offshore salmon production,” Lerøy added.

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