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Investing.com -- Lerøy Seafood Group ASA (OL:LSG) on Wednesday reported a net profit of NOK 93 million in the second quarter of 2025, down from NOK 654 million a year earlier, after weaker salmon and trout prices triggered a negative biomass adjustment of NOK 516 million.
Revenue rose 15% year-over-year to NOK 8.83 billion from NOK 7.65 billion, driven by higher harvest volumes in farming and increased sales in its value-added processing, sales and distribution segment.
Operational EBIT fell 25% to NOK 680 million from NOK 906 million in the same period last year.
Earnings per share were NOK 0.75, compared with NOK 0.77 a year earlier. Operational EBITDA declined 12% to NOK 1.14 billion.
Return on capital employed before fair value adjustments was 8.2%, down from 15.7% in the second quarter of 2024.
The farming segment’s EBIT dropped to NOK 256 million from NOK 777 million, as a sharp fall in salmon and trout spot prices offset a 33% increase in harvest volume and lower production costs.
Harvest volume rose to 48,898 gutted weight tonnes from 36,709 a year earlier. The average spot price for salmon in the quarter was NOK 71.8 per kilo, down from NOK 101.7.
The value-added processing, sales and distribution segment delivered record earnings, with EBIT climbing to NOK 351 million from NOK 217 million, supported by lower raw material prices and higher capacity utilization. Revenue in the segment increased 16% to NOK 8.50 billion.
The Wild Catch segment posted EBIT of NOK 148 million, compared with a NOK 4 million loss in the same period last year.
Revenue increased 48% to NOK 1.01 billion, as prices for cod, haddock and saithe rose 22%, 55% and 69% respectively, while catch volumes remained largely unchanged at 17,687 tonnes.
Income from associated companies was negative NOK 15 million, compared with NOK 52 million a year earlier, due to lower price realization in Scottish Sea Farms.
That unit reported an EBIT loss of NOK 28 million compared with a NOK 234 million profit a year earlier.
Net interest-bearing debt stood at NOK 8.46 billion at the end of June, up from NOK 6.76 billion a year earlier.
The equity ratio remained stable at 49%. Cash flow from operations increased to NOK 1.03 billion from NOK 912 million, supported by improvements in working capital.
Investments totaled NOK 624 million in the quarter, and the group expects capital expenditures of about NOK 2.0 billion for 2025.
Lerøy paid a dividend of NOK 2.50 per share in the quarter, unchanged from last year. The company maintained its 2025 harvest guidance of 195,000 gutted weight tonnes in Norway.
Norwegian export volumes of salmon were up 28% year-over-year in the quarter, while export prices were down 22%. From August 7, most Norwegian seafood exports to the United States will face a 15% tariff.
In June, Norway’s Parliament voted to retain the current biomass and traffic light system for regulating fish farming, rejecting a proposal to shift to a quota system for sea lice discharges.