Raisio sells its fish feed business to Finnforel

Raisio plc, Stock Exchange Release 28 February 2023 at 8:30

Raisio has sold its fish feed business to a subsidiary of Finnforel Oy. The other shareholders of the new company are the American company Alltech Corporation and the Finnish Heino Group. The debt-free purchase price is EUR 7 million and the transaction is carried out in the form of a share deal. Raisioaqua Ltd has been transferred to the new owner, and the transaction does not require the approval of the competition authorities.

“Raisioaqua Ltd is the only Finnish fish feed manufacturer, and its production also plays a vital role in Finland’s fish farming and security of supply. Therefore, it is great that we found a good new home and buyer for the business – one whose business has a place for Raisioaqua’s fish feeds and who will continue to operate the factory in Raisio. Raisioaqua has performed well in the challenging market environment of 2022,” says Pekka Kuusniemi, CEO of Raisio.

Pekka A. Viljakainen, Chairperson of the Board of Finnforel Oy, is pleased with the acquisition and says: “Finnforel’s mission has been to offer sustainably produced Saimaan Tuore fish products to consumers and create a strong export industry in Finland. We have moved to a stage in our strategy where our gigafactor plants will be built around the world. As part of this strategy, it is important to promote the development and production of more sustainable fish feed. With the 60,000-tonne plant we are now buying from Raisio, combined with our partnership with Alltech Coppens, we want to secure a reliable feed supply for fish farmers in the Baltic Sea region, combined with product development with the world’s largest operator in the field.”

The 27 employees currently working in the fish feed business will continue to work for the company as existing employees.

The financial result of the fish feed business reported in discontinued operations and sale of its shares are not expected to have a significant financial impact on Raisio's first quarter of 2023. Raisio recognised an impairment loss of EUR 4.1 million on Raisioaqua’s fixed assets in the Q1 2022 EBIT. The net sales of the fish feed business in 2022 were EUR 24.9 million and EBIT was EUR -5.1 million, including the impairment loss of EUR 4.1 million.

Finnforel Oy is a recirculating aquaculture company established in 2017, specialising in genetics and related technologies. The company currently has pilot plants in Varkaus, Hollola and Joroinen, which produce around one million kilos of sustainably farmed rainbow trout annually. The company’s best-known brand is the Saimaan Tuore line of rainbow trout products that are available in more than a thousand grocery stores around Finland.

Further information: www.finnforel.com

Enquiries:

Pekka Kuusniemi, CEO, tel. +358 50 537 3883

Mika Saarinen, CFO, tel. +358 40 072 6808

Raisio plc
At Raisio, we make food from the heart, with the aim of bringing health to ourselves and the Earth. We keep creating better plant-based and heart-healthy products so that eating healthily and within the Earth’s ecological capacity can be a pleasure. Our strong brands, such as Benecol®, Härkis® and Elovena®, turn our ambitions into reality. Through our responsibility work, we make the hard choices for consumers, so that they can choose Raisio products with confidence. We have around 350 healthy food colleagues in six countries and export to more than 40 markets around the world. Raisio's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. In 2022, the Group’s comparable net sales for continuing operations were approximately EUR 221 million and the comparable EBIT was approximately EUR 18 million. www.raisio.com