Norway Royal Salmon: Q3 19 – Operational EBIT of MNOK 131

Today Norway Royal Salmon (NRS) reports an operational EBIT of MNOK 131 for the third quarter 2019 and EBIT per kg of NOK 17.97. Corresponding figures for the same quarter last year were MNOK 34 and NOK 22.10.

-  The Group's main operations in Region North contributed with a stable and good performance on harvested fish, while Region South had a weak result in the quarter. NRS shall grow through sustainable growth, the Group increased its biomass in the sea by 32 % during the quarter and plans to increase the biomass further in the fourth quarter, says CEO Charles Høstlund.

Payments for growth investments in Arctic Offshore Farming and the new smolt facility, as well as the buildup of biomass in the sea has resulted in an increase in net interest-bearing debt in the quarter to MNOK 926. Equity at the end of the quarter is MNOK 2 278, which equates an equity ratio of 50.3 per cent. Return on capital employed for the last four quarters is 33 per cent.

Region North

Region North posted an operational EBIT of MNOK 138.7 in the quarter, compared with MNOK 53.0 in the corresponding quarter last year. Operational EBIT per kg gutted weight was NOK 19.60 compared with NOK 22.27 in the corresponding quarter last year.

Region South

Region South posted an operational EBIT of MNOK -3.7 in the quarter, compared with MNOK 1.8 in the corresponding quarter last year. Operational EBIT per kg gutted weight was NOK -8.45, compared with NOK 18.05 in the corresponding quarter last year.

The strategic assessment of the Group's operations in Region South was completed with a signed sales agreement on September 26 with an enterprise value of MNOK 1 240. The transaction is expected to be completed in December 2019. Region South has therefore been treated as an entity held for sale in the third quarter reporting.

NRS harvested 7 513 tonnes gutted weight in the quarter, which is 203 % higher than in the same quarter last year. 7 076 tonnes of the total volume were harvested in Region North and 437 tonnes in Region South. Estimated harvest volume is 31 000 tonnes for 2019. Estimated harvest volume for 2020 is 37 000 tonnes, an increase of 32 per cent compared with the volume of Region North in 2019. The estimated number of smolt put to sea in 2019 is 12.1 million, of which 10.1 million in Region North and 2.0 million in Region South. The sales business sold 24 736 tonnes salmon during the quarter, which is 66 % higher than in the corresponding quarter last year.

For more information, please contact:

• CEO Charles Høstlund, +47 994 18 449
• CFO Ola Loe, +47 911 79 411.

Norway Royal Salmon in brief

Norway Royal Salmon (NRS) group owns 39 426 tonnes MAB distributed between 34 746 tonnes MAB in Region North located in West Finnmark and Troms and 4 680 tonnes MAB in Region South in the area around Haugesund. In addition, the group has minority interest in three associated Norwegian fish farming companies which together own ten fish farming licenses, as well as Arctic Fish on Iceland that has licenses for 11 000 tonnes. NRS is an attractively positioned fish farming group, which offers salmon to the market through its own sales organisation. For further details, please visit www.norwayroyalsalmon.com.