In the second quarter, Grieg Seafood Finnmark AS accounted for 88 million of the group’s 134 million operating profits.
Director Håkon Volden does not want to speculate on why the Finnmark department farms salmon much more profitably than the Rogaland, Shetland and Canadian departments.
– We are talking about long-term employment, in all areas, and we have managed to reduce our costs, he tells Altaposten.
While Grieg Finnmark earned NOK 14.90 per kilo of salmon slaughtered and sold in the second quarter, the corresponding profit in Rogaland was NOK 10.20. In Shetland there has been a near-biological catastrophe in recent years, and the cull took place at a loss per kilogram of NOK 5.71 in a quarter when salmon prices were exorbitant. In Canada, the profit was NOK 6.03 per kilo.
– As long as we make money, we can afford to continue to invest in new technologies, systems, expertise and use our capabilities more, says Volden.
After many years of trout production in the Northern Cape, the latest generation is soon on its way to the slaughterhouse.
– It is too expensive to produce and brings in less than salmon. That’s why we opted for salmon in the Nordkapp, explains Volden.
In the second quarter of 2012, Grieg Seafood ASA achieved an operating profit of 13.7 million. In the second quarter of this year, the result increased tenfold, to 133 million.
– To a large extent, high salmon prices, says Volden.
