According to the press communiqué the EBIT adjusted for sales gains was NOK 574 million, which is the best result ever for Cermaq. The company admits that the best result for the fourth quarter is based on increased farming volumes, high salmon prices and strong results from the Chilean operations.
Cermaq reported an EBIT for Q4 2010 of NOK 601 million against NOK 218 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Adjusted for a gain on sale of property the EBIT was NOK 574 million. The strong performance contributed to an operational cash flow of NOK 504 million. The net interest bearing debt was reduced by NOK 475 million to NOK 1 181 million in the quarter.
CEO of Cermaq Geir Isaksen said that he is delighted to have such a best result from both Mainstream and EWOS. He added that building on the current strong market, both business units demonstrate improvements in volumes, cost, and working capital. EWOS reported an EBIT of NOK 210 million for the quarter, a Q4 record in the company’s history.
He also states that the result reflects a volume increase for EWOS in all regions in the quarter and also increased attention by the farmers to our functional feeds which provide better yield and fish health. Mainstream demonstrated continued improvements and reported an EBIT pre fair value adjustment of NOK 392 million in Q4 2010, representing an EBIT/kg of NOK 10.8. The good result is mainly driven by increased prices in all regions combined with higher volumes and improved biological performance in Chile.
For the full year 2010, Cermaq reported an operating revenue of NOK 9 991 million and an EBIT pre fair value adjustment of NOK 1 439 million – the best result ever in Cermaq’s history. Cermaq’s return on capital employed (ROCE) reached 21.7 % for 2010 compared to 8.0 % in 2009. The equity ratio increased by 7.1 % in the quarter to 59.8 percent at the end of fourth quarter 2010.
