Bakkafrost Posts Third-Quarter Operating Profit of 128 Million Kroner, Below Expectations
Key Facts
Bakkafrost reported group operating profit of 128 million Danish kroner in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 22 million in the same period a year earlier. The result was below analysts’ forecast of 223 million kroner, according to estimates cited in an Investing.com report attributed to Reuters. The figures showed diverging performance between the company’s operations in the Faroe Islands and Scotland: the former recorded an operating profit, while the latter remained loss-making. Combined harvest volume from the two segments fell to 27,634 tonnes of gutted weight, from 30,678 tonnes a year earlier. After the results were announced, the company’s shares fell more than 5% on Monday, November 2, 2026, according to the same report.
In the Faroe Islands, segment revenue rose to 1,436 million Danish kroner in the third quarter, from 1,405 million a year earlier, while operating profit increased to 267 million from 227 million. However, farming earnings per kilogram remained negative at 0.34 kroner, compared with a loss of 1.13 kroner per kilogram in the corresponding period. The chief executive said biological performance in the Faroe Islands remained strong, with good growth and high biomass at sea. He added that harvesting smaller farming sites contributed to higher unit costs during the quarter. In the first nine months of 2026, the Faroe Islands harvest totaled about 75,000 tonnes, compared with about 60,000 tonnes in the same period of 2025.
In Scotland, segment revenue fell to 245 million Danish kroner from 282 million a year earlier, while its operating loss narrowed to 140 million from 205 million. The farming loss per kilogram narrowed to 30.49 kroner from 36.09 kroner, but remained much larger than the segment’s loss in the Faroe Islands. The company attributed the pressures to lower harvest volumes, smaller fish weights and higher unit costs. Costs related to incidents in Scottish farming totaled 42 million kroner in the quarter, compared with 70 million a year earlier. The company also said exceptional mortality, mainly at sites emptied during September, affected the fourth quarter.
The fishmeal, oil and feed business supported results, with the segment’s operating profit margin before interest and tax at 24%, compared with 12% in the third quarter of 2025. The segment’s operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization also more than doubled from a year earlier. This came as global salmon supply rose 6.9% year on year in the third quarter when inventory movements were included, and 4.8% excluding them. Benchmark prices for 4–5 kilogram superior salmon fell 0.6% compared with the third quarter of 2025 and 15.7% from the second quarter of 2026. Bakkafrost said global supply is expected to fall 3% year on year in the fourth quarter, excluding inventory movements.
The company expects total harvest to reach about 125,000 tonnes in 2027, comprising 97,000 tonnes in the Faroe Islands and 28,000 tonnes in Scotland. It raised its feed production forecast for the same year from 170,000 tonnes to about 185,000 tonnes, with most production to be sold internally to its farming operations in the two regions. In Scotland, the company decided to stop buying salmon smolts from external suppliers to limit biological risks and focus on its own freshwater production, including the Applecross facility. Bakkafrost expects global supply to remain stable in the first half of 2027, then grow by about 2% in the second half. The company is scheduled to publish its fourth-quarter 2026 report on February 15, 2027.