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Mowi Asa

Q42024

1/24/2025

speaker
Marketing Voiceover
Promotional Intro Clip

Life is about always aiming for the best. That's why salmon lovers refuse to settle for anything less than Moet. Nothing less than salmon from the most pristine waters on earth. Nothing less than total traceability. Nothing less than mouthwatering flavors. nothing less than quality that exceeds expectations because you deserve only the best you deserve moe salmon salmon is good moe is goodness good morning everyone

speaker
Ivan Windheim
CEO of Mowi

Good morning everyone, both in the room and online. That was a little taste of some of the marketing activities we are ongoing for the Mowi Summit these days. My name is Ivan Windheim and I'm the CEO of Mowi and it's my pleasure to wish you all welcome to the presentation of Mowi's fourth quarter results of 2024. And together with our CFO, Kristian Ellingsen, I will take you through the numbers and fundamentals this morning, and to the best of my and our ability, add a few appropriate comments to them. And after presentation, our IRO, Kim Dusvik, will routinely host a Q&A session, but also you who are following the presentation online can submit your questions or comments in advance, or as we go along, by email. Please refer to our website at movi.com for the necessary details. The disclaimer, I think we leave for self-study. So for the pleasantries, practicalities and the disclaimer out of the way, I think we are ready for the presentation. And what could be more appropriate this morning than to start off with a recently announced agreement to acquire the remaining shares of NOVA SEA. 52 000 tons fully integrated state-of-the-art salmon farmer in production area 8 in northern norway known for its consistently industry-leading margins and biological metrics and further on that note i think it's fair to say that production area 18 over norway is one of the best places in the world for farming of atlantic salmon Moe has been a large minority shareholder in Overseas since as long ago as 1995. So this is a company we know well, and I have to say it was a day of joy when we finally decided to fully join our forces after 30 years. Good things come to those who wait, they say, and I think that's particularly true in this case, because together we will have 157,000 tonnes harvest volumes in Northern Norway, if you use 2025 figures. And then we define Northern Norway as production area 7 to production area 12. And these volumes will provide the basis for significant synergies across the value chain, including improved MAB utilization and biologic performance, in addition to enhanced license and site portfolio, not to mention reduced cost. And our preliminary estimate amounts to 400 NOK a million. This transaction will also strengthen MoE as a global and national powerhouse for innovation and sustainable aquaculture, including fish welfare, as well as being an instrument and a catalyst for further sustainable growth in Norway. So the industrial rationale for the transaction is very, very strong, which will benefit all our stakeholders. Otherwise, the transaction is conditional upon customer consent by relevant competition authorities, including the EU Commission, in addition to certain other closing conditions. And we expect the closing to take place sometime in the second half of this year. And finally, total payment for the remaining shares, including the 5% voluntary offer, is 8.2 NOK billion, or 694 million euro, of which 2.2 NOK billion, or 188 million euro, is through a so-called contribution-kind share issue, i.e. through a share settlement where we pay with MOE shares. Then from M&A to the fourth quarter release. The fourth quarter release means it's also time to take stock of the year we have just left behind us. And when we stand here today and look in the rearview mirror, I think it's fair to say that 2024 was another record-breaking year for Mowi. And what really stands out, at least in my view, is that before the first time in Mowi 60's history crossed the, for us, magic 500,000 tons mark in harvest volumes. 502,000 tons to be precise, which is equivalent to a growth of 5.7% year-over-year, which is a lot in a low-growth industry such as the salmon industry. Because the industry at large only grew by an ignorable 1% last year, following several years within practice, no growth. And these harvest volumes translated into a record high turnover from last year of 5.62 billion euro. And the record high standing biomass you see at year end of 342,000 tons live weight, which is up by 30,000 tons year over year. We have found ourselves obliged to up our harvest volume guidance for this year from originally 520,000 tons to now 530,000 tons, which is equivalent to a further growth of or 5.7% year-over-year. MNOVA's CN board now expects to harvest 600,000 tons already next year, and not in 2029, which was the original target, which means that we increased our 2029 harvest volume target accordingly to at least 650,000 tons. And this we will achieve through increased smolt stocking and by means of post smolt. Because we have still unutilized license capacity in Norway in several of the countries where we operate and the post smolt we can increase the productivity on licenses already in operation. Because as this slide reads, a quarter of smolting more this year will namely be post-smolt and in over as much as half of the smolt if we take reading off out of the equation for natural reasons. So I think we can say that our extensive investments in smolt and post-smolt over the past few years have borne fruit. I also think it's fair to say that we have come a long way in Mowi since we launched our productivity program a few years back. Because truth be told, not much happened on the volume side in Mowi for several years after the big merger in 2006. Due to a confluence of factors where some were within our control and some were beyond. But which are now in the rear view mirror because we are gone from lagging behind our listed peers on farming volume growth to be ahead. So I would like to take the opportunity to thank my 11,000 colleagues in 26 countries for the invaluable efforts to make this happen. It's of course much, much appreciated. Then from the grand scheme of things to more specifically about the fourth quarter, and as the first bullet point on this slide reads, Mowi posted 1.50 billion euro in operating revenues in the fourth quarter, which translated into an operation profit of 226 million euro. And harvest volumes were 134,000 tons, to which it can be added that operating revenues in the quarter was a record high for a quarter for Mowi, propelled by seasonal record high harvest volumes. Otherwise, prices increased as expected in the quarter from the third quarter on lower supply in combination with good Christmas demand. And I realized blended farming costs, i.e. weighted farming costs for seven farming countries was slightly lower quarter over quarter and down compared with the first half of the year due to lower feed prices and improved biological metrics. And we expect this trend to continue in 2025, although the first quarter will be impacted by seasonally lower harvest volumes and therefore less economies of scale, which will weigh on realized blended farming costs in this quarter. Furthermore, consumer products and feed delivered yet another strong quarter, I would say. And just before Christmas, Moe was once again ranked as the world's most sustainable animal protein producer by the Precision Qualifier Initiative. In fierce competition, the sixth of the largest listed animal protein producers in the world. And this is the sixth year in a row which I have to say is a nice encouragement for our sustainability work because as we have said numerous of times sustainability including fish welfare is deeply ingrained in the moviculture and at the heart of everything we do. We care for salmon and we care about nature. Then last but not least our board of directors has decided to distribute a quarterly dividend of two NOK per share after the fourth quarter. I think that does it for the highlights of the quarter. So now on to key financial figures. Christian will, as usual, go in depth on these numbers later this morning. So as not to be too repetitive, we will just touch briefly upon the most important ones now. And turnover profits, I think we skip as we have just been through them. So let's start with cash this time around. Net interest paid out stood at 1.87 billion euro at year end, impacted by seasonally working capital tie-up in our downstream business of 80 million euro, which we will get back during the first half of this year. That's the dynamic of that seasonality. I mean, all we see on board net interest-bearing debt would have been 2.42 billion euro year-end, and equity ratio almost unchanged at 46%. So we still have a strong balance sheet, I would say, with a sustainable debt level. And further on that note, we will revert with a new long-term debt target post-closing, but as you can hear, we are comfortable with our current pro forma debt level. Furthermore, undline earnings per share was 31 Eurocent in the quarter, whilst annualized return on capital employed was 17%. And in terms of regional margins through the value chain, I would say all regions did reasonably well in the quarter, given the prevailing market conditions, maybe with the exception of Maui Island, which suffered from very low harvest volumes in addition to issues with rickettsia. And the market conditions in the quarter I would characterize as good on increasing prices as said earlier this morning due to lower supply coupled with good Christmas demand. And I think it's fair to say that the first quarter has offered a positive price sentiment so far adjusted for high supply. And although America is still lagging somewhat behind Europe and Asia. in the wake of the cost of living crisis there, but better year over year. And the ongoing tariff situation we have now, we hope it does not escalate because tariffs are not good for anyone, neither for the imposer nor the addressee. Then our own price performance in the quarter, which I would say was strong as it was 15% above the reference price, which is the standard we like to hold ourselves to internally. Positively impacted by contract share of 25% in the quarter and contract prices above the prevailing spot prices. In addition to good spot price performance in the quarter and a high superior share and good harvest weights across the board. Then it's time to address the different business entities, and we start as usual with Norway, our largest and most important entity by far, and the locomotive of our business model. And if you take the bigger picture first, 2024 was a milestone year for our Norwegian operation as we crossed the 300,000 tons harvest volume line for the first time, 304,000 tons, which was put on our guidance. And we know what's here on board. We are now on course for 400,000 tons in Maui, Norway. And as you can see from the chart here, as recently as in 2017, we harvested only 210,000 tons in Moe Norway. So I think we can say things are moving along well in our largest and most important entity. I also think it's fair to say that the fourth quarter was another strong quarter for Moe Norway. an operational profit of 184 million euro through the value chain by means of a margin of 2.20 euro per kilo on a on a 84 000 tons harvest volumes and on the back of a good biology which has continued into the new year and i mean the source situation is much better this year than last year knock on wood In terms of regional margins in Norway in the quarter, as you can see from this chart, all regions did well in the quarter apart from region mid, which suffered from issues with string jellyfish and gills. And I'm afraid that the after effects of these issues will follow region mid in the coming months in the form of a low and expansive biomass. Because in a long production cycle, such as in salmon farming, there is no quick way out of biological setbacks. Biology is the law and everything else is just a recommendation. So this we just have to work our way through. Then the last slide on MoeNorway, our sales contract portfolio. Contract share was 22% for MoeNorway in the quarter, and was without spot on our guidance, and these contracts contributed, as said earlier this morning, positively to our earnings. And as for 2025 contracts, we have maintained the contract strategy we have had in recent years, and which has served us well so far, with slightly better contract prices year over year. Then it's time to have a look at our six farming countries and we start as usual with Mowi Scotland. Mowi Scotland lives behind a good quarter a year biologically I would say, with good help from low sea temperatures in Scotland last year. And this manifested itself in the best financial and operational results seen in our Scottish operation for many years. And by extension, operation profit came to 23 million euro in the quarter and 111 million euro for the year, which is up from minus one million euro and plus 77 million euros respectively in 2023, on higher harvest volumes, lower cost and slightly better prices, which are always a strong combination. And with a postmortem program in Loch Etif, large smolt in Loch O, and a broodstock facility under construction at Odessy, I would say the future looks bright for a Scottish operation. And with almost 40,000 tons in harvest volumes in the first half of the year, I think we have a few good moments ahead of us now financially. Then overseas to Chile. Mobile Chile was not far behind. Moe Scotland on operational profit in the quarter. There is 19 million euro on 22,000 tons harvest volumes. And with a strong finish last year, 2024 ended almost equal to 2023 profit wise. And for the first time since the ISA crisis in 2008, we were above 70,000 tons in harvest volumes. In Moe Chile last year, 73,000 tons to be precise. So it took a while. Otherwise, biology was satisfactory in Mowi-Chile in the quarter despite its summer down there now. And it has developed satisfactorily so far this year. Then from North to Mowi-Canada. Moving Canada went from losing 5 million euro in the fourth quarter of 2023 to make a profit of 2 million euro in this quarter due to lower cost and better prices because harvest volumes are relatively stable year over year. And biology was good in Canada in the quarter both in the west and in the east. And in terms of tariffs, it looks like we didn't get a tariff on our Canadian salmon into the USA in the first round after all, because it was postponed by one month. So let's hope that postponement can become permanent, because as we said earlier this morning, tariffs are not good for anyone, neither for the imposer nor for the addressee. But the situation is unstable, so we will continue to monitor it closely and take necessary actions, including shuffling around with our seven origins for the best of our customers and our shareholders, wherever that might be at any given time. Which brings us to our two smallest farming entities, Mowi Island and Mowi Faroes. And if you take Mowi Island first, our Irish operation was loss-making in the fourth quarter due to, as said, Already very low harvest volumes in the quarter in addition to issues with rickettsia. But the year as a whole was a good year for Maui Island I would say and the record high standing biomass at year end. I would say we have a good starting point for this year as well. More farrows also had low harvest volumes in the quarter, in addition to being hit by harvesting out our highest cost site in the farrows. So both earnings and margin in a quarter were lower than what we are used to in this entity. But on a positive note, however, we are now harvesting from our best performing site in the farrows, which should provide the basis for once again, industry leading earnings and margin in this entity. Then it's time to move on to Iceland and our Atlantic operation Arctic fish. Operation profit was 2.7 million euro for Arctic fish in the fourth quarter and was for that almost identical with the fourth quarter of 2023 on now 3,500 tons harvest volumes. Margin was 77 euro cent per kilo in the quarter to which it can be added that the main deviation from The Norwegian margin is cost. So cost is therefore high on our agenda in Iceland and going from 10,000 tons harvest volumes last year to 50,000 tons this year should obviously help us up to a certain point, but we have to do more. So with that, I think we can conclude more with farming and move on to consume products, a downstream business. Operation Profit was record high 53 million euro for consumer products in the fourth quarter, capitalizing on good demand and record high sold volumes of 71,000 tons product weight, which is up from 38 million euro in the comparable quarter of 2023 on then 65,000 tons product weight. So I think we can say we... I think we can say we still see good demand for our products, partly with the help of a constantly evolving product portfolio in the wake of our branding efforts. And whilst we are at it, we also continue to make progress on our smart factory concept in our 19 value-added factories, spearheaded by our processing excellence team. Then last one out this morning, Mowi Feed. More feed also continued to break records, this time around with a seasonally record high operation EBITDA of 21 million euro on seasonally record high sold volumes of 164,000 tons. And for the year, operation EBITDA was record high 62 million euro on record high sold volumes of feed of 585,000 tons, which is equivalent to a growth of 12% year over year. So with this growth and the Nova Sea on board, we need more feed capacity in Norway. So we will therefore break ground on our 60,000 tons feed expansion project in Bjorn in March. And we expect commissioning to take place sometime in the second quarter next year. So I think we can say things are moving along well in our feed operation too. So with that, Christian, the floor is all yours. You can take us through the financial figures and fundamentals. Thank you so far.

speaker
Kristian Ellingsen
CFO of Mowi

Thank you very much, Ivan. Good morning, everyone. Hope you're all doing well. As usual, we start with the overview of profit and loss, which shows all time high Q4 revenue of 1.5 billion euro and full year revenue of 5.6 billion euro. Operational EBIT was 226 million euro in Q4, up from 203 in the comparable quarter on record high volumes. and a strong performance in all business areas. This translates into underlying earnings per share of €0.31 and annualized return on capital employed of 17%. For the full year, earnings were somewhat down driven by lower price achievement. With regards to the items between operational EBIT and financial EBIT, the positive fair value adjustment of biomass due to higher prices was partly offset by impairment of licenses in Canada West. This is related to the changed framework conditions announced by the government back in 2024. The impairment is in accordance with our prudent approach and could potentially be reversed should there be any positive changes to framework conditions. The strategic review is still ongoing. Income from associated companies is mainly related to NovaSea. As Ivan mentioned, we expect the acquisition to be closed sometime in the second half. And from that point, NovaSea will be fully consolidated into group figures. Until that, it will continue to be presented as an associated company. We then move on to the balance sheet. As we have continued to invest in our value chain, invested in growth, There has been an increase in fixed assets and also biological assets, as we see here from the numbers. Covenant equity ratio is 49.8%, so the balance sheet remains strong. Performer covenant equity ratio, including the effects of the acquisition of NovaSea, would have been 49%, so not a significant effect. When it comes to the cash flow, the contribution from EBITDA was partly offset by a seasonal working capital tie-up, of which approximately 80 million euro is related to downstream, i.e. accounts receivable and inventory. For the full year, working capital tie-up is 44 million euro. That's a tie-up related to more biomass in C, increased activity in the value chain, this was partly offset by a reduced cost at stock of approximately 41 million euro or 13 euro cent per kilo lie weight with regards to tax payments this includes prepayments of tax of 81 million euro in norway which will reduce 2025 tax payments accordingly net capex and financial items paid were in line with the guidance And that interest bearing debt of 1867 year end would have been 2.4 billion euro, including the effects of the acquisition of NovaSea. And we are comfortable with our balance sheet. We then proceed with our cash flow guidance for 2025. Working capital tie-up is estimated to 50 million euro related to biomass growth and growth through the value chain. CapEx is estimated to 310 million euro. Interests 90 million euro and taxes around 190 million euro. To support all of our business initiatives and our growth projects, we need a solid financing in place. since last time the 2020 bond has matured and has been repaid. And apart from this, there are no changes on this slide. And we will come back with a revised nibbed target in due course when the NOVA SEED transaction is closed. We will then give some comments on cost. The top graph shows the development in full cost per kilo in Maui farming. This development is linked to feed prices, which increased significantly 2021 to 2022, but were stable in 23 and decreased 8% in 24. This is the main driver behind the cost at stock reduction effect during 2024. And we believe in a further positive cash effect in 2025. We expect full P&L cost to be reduced in 2025, as also indicated on the graph. Although cost in Q1 isolated, as usual, will be impacted by seasonally lower volumes and less dilution of cost. And we maintain a strong focus on cost containment, on cost leadership. As communicated on our Capital Markets Day last year, We have identified a cost reduction potential of 300-400 million euro in the next five years with two main components. The main one is, of course, operational improvements, including Postmold, Mowi 4.0 and other initiatives. And the other main component, which is also very important, is the cost saving program, including the productivity program. And we have a good starting point. As the graph below here illustrates, we are the number one or the number two performer on cost in the seven farming countries we operate. But we always strive for further improvements. When it comes to the cost saving program, we realized 42 million euro in annualized cost saving in 2024. Total cost savings 2018 to 2024 then amount to 327 million euro, of which 215 million euro in farming. There is a total of around 1800 different initiatives across the company, including boats, treatments, nets, health, automation, productivity, procurement, energy savings, travel costs, and a lot more. And one important result of this cost focus on all these cost improvement projects we have run is a more cost aware organization. Our teams across the company have a stronger cost culture than some years ago. And we, of course, think it's very important to maintain this focus and continue to monitor and to follow up on various improvement initiatives. And we have initiated a new 30 million euro cost saving program for 2025. An important part of the cost saving program is the productivity program. Salary and personnel expenses represents the second largest cost item in MAUI. 706 million euro for the full year of 24. And this cost item is something we can influence through our efforts to work smarter, become more productive. Since 2019, we have achieved as much as 21% productivity increase based on 15% more volumes with 6% less nominal FTEs. We have set ourselves a new target for 2025 of reducing FTEs by 300 through the productivity program. And this is to be achieved through natural turnover, through retirement, reduced overtime, reduced contracted labor and automation. We then move on to market fundamentals. Market supply increased by 3% versus Q4 23 or 5% adjusted for inventory movements. Harvest volumes in Norway for the industry increased by 6% compared with the same period last year. There was some early harvesting at the start of the quarter, but then growth and production in Norway improved markedly. And per year end, the number of fish in sea for the industry in Norway was up 1% and biomass up 5%. Biological conditions also improved in Scotland, which led to growth. Volumes were down in Chile as harvesting was postponed to Q1. Global consumption increased 5% year on year. Consumption in Europe increased by 4%. Demand trends in key European markets remained strong. There was a clear positive Christmas demand effect. The food service sector in Europe saw some higher activity indicating some rebound from the downturn caused by the higher cost of living. US consumption decreased by 2% compared with Q4 last year. That's mainly related to less volumes available from Chile and Canada. The US market still lags somewhat behind Europe when it comes to demand recovery. the retail channel experienced volume growth in q4 and the fresh pre-packed category continued to drive the volume increase in retail consumption in in asia demonstrated significant significant growth during the quarter as we see here as much as 19 percent compared to the same period last year all key markets in asia showed positive consumption trends and primarily driven by more larger size salmon available, which was a good fit with the strong demand in the food service segment. With regards to prices, we saw the usual uptick in prices in Q4 versus Q3, and the estimated total value spent on salmon in the market reached a new record high level for a fourth quarter. When it comes to volumes for the industry, according to our estimates, global industry supply growth for 2025 is expected to be modest, around 2-3%, which should be supportive of continued good supply and demand balance. This is an increase from last quarter's estimate following good biology in the northern hemisphere over the past few months. And when it comes to our own volumes, we have further increased our 25 volume guidance by 10,000 tons to 530,000 tons. So this gives a growth of 5.7% from 24 to 25. With regards to Q1 volumes, we are up 12%. Q125 versus Q124, and up 13% for Norway. And this means that we are on the right track to increase H1 volumes, which is something we have worked on. And our volume guidance is supported by all-time high biomass NC of 342,000 tons live weight. And as this slide shows, we have a track record of actually delivering on our volume guidance with a positive 0.3% positive deviation last five years versus negative 7.9% for listed peers. With that, I conclude this walkthrough of financials and fundamentals, and then we are ready for Ivan and some comments on the outlook.

speaker
Ivan Windheim
CEO of Mowi

Thank you, Christian. Much appreciated. Then it's time to conclude with some closing remarks before we wrap it all up with our Q&A session hosted by our IRO, Kim Dusvik. And as I said earlier this morning, the fourth quarter marked the end of another record-breaking year for Mowi in terms of top line and volumes across the board. I also think it's fair to say that we did well versus our peers on margin last year, but perhaps most satisfying of all, we crossed the for us magic 500,000 tons mark in harvest volumes for the first time in more than six years history. 502,000 tons to be precise, which is equivalent to a growth of 5.7% year over year, which is a lot in a low growth industry such as the salmon industry. And whilst we are on the subject, we have upped our harvest volume guidance for this year from originally 520,000 tons to now 530,000 tons, which is equivalent to a further growth of 5.7% year over year. So MoE's idiosyncratic growth continues unabated, and we now expect to harvest 600,000 tons already next year, and not in 2029, which was the original target. This transaction will also strengthen MoE as a global and national powerhouse for innovation and sustainable aquaculture, including fish welfare, as well as being an instrument and a catalyst for further sustainable growth in northern Norway. So the industrial rationale for the transaction is very, very strong. It's also satisfying to see that the cost has leveled out and is now coming somewhat down on lower feed prices after a few years of unprecedented inflation. And as Kristin just showed us here, we continue to take further cost measures on our end. individually they do not always amount to much but combined they are very very important for us purely from an cost generic nature as every little counts particularly with our size but also because they help us build and maintain a cost conscious business culture in maui culture eats strategy for breakfast they say and that's not only a cliche there is a lot of wisdom embedded in it And finally, it looks like the market is working its way out of the cost of living crisis all around, and we still believe in a modest supply growth in the coming years. So fundamentally, I would say things are looking good. So let's hope this tariff situation we have ongoing does not escalate, because as we said earlier this morning, tariffs are not good for anyone, neither for the imposer nor the address C. But the situation is unstable, so we will continue to monitor it closely and take necessary actions, including shuffling around with our seven origins for the best of our customers and our shareholders, whatever that might be at any given time. From one thing to another, this is Karin Kyllese. She works as a farming technician in Moe, Norway, region south. And when the rest of us were celebrating Christmas with great food and drink in front of the fireplace, she was celebrating Christmas completely alone in the icy wilderness of Antarctica in minus 30 degrees Celsius. And on 13th of January, she arrived at the South Pole as the youngest ever to ski solo after 54 days and 1,130 kilometers on Antarctic ice. Some is just tougher than the rest of us, and I think Karen is one of them. And as you can see from the picture here, now the Mowi flag is planted on the South Pole. So with that, Kristin and Kim, I think we're ready for the Q&A session. So if Kristin can please join me on the stage and Kim can administer the mic and the question.

speaker
Christian Nordby
Analyst at Arctic Securities

Christian Nordby, Arctic Securities. One question regarding your net debt target. I know that you will address it later, but how do you think about a net debt target? Is it primarily on a per kilogram basis, or is it more on a net debt to EBITDA basis? What are your thoughts regarding the methodology behind realizing it?

speaker
Ivan Windheim
CEO of Mowi

EBITDA, and then we convert it to per kilo. Okay.

speaker
Christian Nordby
Analyst at Arctic Securities

So it's fair to say that also excluding Nova Sea, you would have probably revised it anyhow based on the strong growth you're getting. That's true. Second question, in terms of tariffs, what are your thoughts if Chile avoids the tariffs and all the other countries get it for MoE? Yeah.

speaker
Ivan Windheim
CEO of Mowi

i think that uh i think that's bad for everyone but of course for more it's an advantage versus peers but we don't we don't like guitars salmon is an extremely international product so open markets zero tariffs zero friction that's what we want thank you

speaker
Unidentified Participant
Analyst (name not provided)

Just a question on the supply guidance. So on industry supply, it's been up roughly 1% on good biology in the Northern hemisphere, but your own guidance, Norway and Scotland is not increased. Any comments to that?

speaker
Ivan Windheim
CEO of Mowi

Not really. Still early days, Alexander. So I think we have to revert to this. We have obviously a lot of fish in the sea right now. So going forward with 520, even for us, that's too prudent. So we have to up it. But there is still potential in this. But again, early days. So let's revert to this at a later stage.

speaker
Unidentified Participant
Analyst (name not provided)

Thank you.

speaker
Ivan Windheim
CEO of Mowi

You're welcome.

speaker
Martin Karlan
Analyst at ABG

Martin Karlan, ABG, General Collier. You comment that the winter source situation is much better than last year, but could you give some more details and perhaps, I know it's early days, but whether some of this also could be explained by temperature, higher temperature than last year or vaccine and so on?

speaker
Ivan Windheim
CEO of Mowi

I can put it into perspective for you. I think that's the best way to answer that question. In January, in the region north, we had a superior share of 94% and 100% of the fish was vaccinated. I won't tell you what we had last year, but it was a very different number. So for the vaccinated fish, things are so far going very well. We see for the fish we haven't vaccinated, it's very different. So I think We have to thank the vaccine for the lion's share of this improvement. But of course, sea temperatures are lower year over year. So still they are one and a half to one degree lower. So that helps. But the main driver here is, at least in our view, the vaccine.

speaker
Martin Karlan
Analyst at ABG

So then on price achievements for Q1, so far it's much better than last year, but still we should assume some negative effects from downgrades. That's true.

speaker
Ivan Windheim
CEO of Mowi

You have seen the industry numbers. So typically there was no 100% access to this vaccine for the fish we are harvesting now. So for the fish that was not vaccinated, we see downgrades. But the situation again is much better year over year. We have also increased our processing capacity. So in that way, we are much better off than last year. We had a drawback last year and the year before that versus our peers. So our situation is much, much, much better. But also biologically, things look better. So hopefully this we can put behind us. And then we can spend the time on other issues.

speaker
Kim Dusvik
Investor Relations Officer

So we have a question from the web, Alexander Jones, Bank of America on US demand. If you can comment on the recent developments there, please.

speaker
Kristian Ellingsen
CFO of Mowi

Yeah. So what we see is that there is positive development in the retail channel. We see that on around numbers, we see around 13% increase Q4 versus Q4 last year in skin pack. And we also see some some positive movements in food service especially when it comes to e-commerce home delivery that segment of the market which is more important than the US than than in Europe uh but still as I also said earlier they are somewhat behind Europe on the recovery curve when it comes to demand but we are very confident that that will work itself out in in due course

speaker
Kim Dusvik
Investor Relations Officer

Then a question from Alexander Sloan from Barclays on costs. If you can give us a sense of how much lower feed costs could contribute to lower blended farming costs in 2025 versus 2024.

speaker
Kristian Ellingsen
CFO of Mowi

We have indicated a cost at stock reduction in the presentation and in the report material. We said that also feed prices is the main driver behind that cash decrease of 13 euro cent per kilo lie weight. And we also say that we believe that 25 feed prices are expected to also continue that trend. So this will, of course, translate into P&L cost savings in 2025. And the magnitude is something I think we need to come back to. But at least we have given some input on the level we are talking about when it comes to cost of stock reduction, which is then driven by the 8% lower feed prices we have seen during 2024.

speaker
Kim Dusvik
Investor Relations Officer

Okay, thank you. That concludes the questions.

speaker
Ivan Windheim
CEO of Mowi

Okay, then it only remains for me to thank everyone for the attention. We hope to see you back in May at our first quarter release, if not before. Meanwhile, take care and have a great day ahead. Thank you.

Disclaimer

This conference call transcript was computer generated and almost certianly contains errors. This transcript is provided for information purposes only.EarningsCall, LLC makes no representation about the accuracy of the aforementioned transcript, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the information provided by the transcript.

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