Scottish Salmon Company hails record £111m turnover amid rising costs

Chief executive Craig Anderson aims to increase global market share as demand for Scottish salmon continues to grow. Picture: Contributed

The Edinburgh-based salmon producer, which operates around 60 sites across the west coast and the Hebrides, posted sales of £111.8 million in the six months to 30 June.

It pointed to surging harvest volumes, which rose by 17 per cent, and re-iterated its full-year volume guidance of 33,000 tonnes, up from 30,000 in 2018.

This came against a backdrop of rising operating costs, which climbed from £60.7m to £80.6m, while performance in the second quarter was knocked by “biological and environmental challenges”, including exceptional net mortality costs of £3m from two separate events.

Earnings before interest and taxes dropped to £31.4m, from £33.2m in the previous year. Exports remained a key driver of revenues, jumping 8 per cent to account for 67 per cent of sales.

SSC, a subsidiary of Jersey-registered The Scottish Salmon Company plc, which is listed on the Oslo stock exchange, declared a dividend of 0.57 Norwegian krone (5p) per share.

Chief executive Craig Anderson said: “We delivered record revenues of £111.8m, despite a softening in market conditions and contending with localised operational and biological events that impacted production in Q2.

“Over the long-term, the aim remains to deliver steady and sustainable growth. We remain on track to achieve our target volume of 33,000 tonnes by the year-end and 45,000 tonnes by 2025 with planning consent being obtained for two sites.”

He added that increasing global market share remained a priority, as demand for Scottish salmon continues to rise.