OSLO: One of the world’s biggest seafood companies – Norway’s Marine Harvest – said profits at its Irish division plunged in the last quarter to €1.3m from €6.2m a year earlier. It said bad weather and biological conditions experienced in the first quarter of the year continued to impact its operations here. The gross salmon harvest at its farms here plunged 50pc during the second quarter.
The Irish division is the smallest unit of Marine Harvest, whose shares are listed in New York and Oslo. Its group operational revenue jumped to €832.1m in the second quarter, from €767.3m in the second quarter of 2015. Its operational earnings before interest and tax was €149m in the second quarter this year. And while Marine Harvest said that salmon prices have risen to an “unprecedented” level, its business in Ireland has lagged that in other regions. It has fish farms in Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Chile and the Faroe Islands.
Salmon prices rose 55pc in Europe and by 43pc in the Americas in the period. “The effects of very challenging weather conditions, hampered feeding and biological challenges from the first quarter continue to impact costs,” said Marine Harvest of its Irish operations.
