5/20/2026

speaker
Frodo Arntsen
CEO

Good morning everyone, and welcome to the presentation of Salmar's results for the first quarter of 2026. My name is Frodo Arntsen, I am the CEO of Salmar, and with me today I have our CFO Ulrik Steenvik. We have been looking forward to presenting these numbers today. because our start to 2026 has been very strong. At Solmoil, it is always about producing salmon on the salmon's terms. That's why it is especially pleasing to see the record strong biological performance we have achieved at sea so far this year. These results do not come by themselves. They are the result of continuous improvement throughout the value chain to ensure the best possible conditions for our salmon. When we have strong biology, we also deliver good financial results, and you will see that clearly in today's presentation. Above all, this is made possible by the hard work of all our employees. Every day, they go to work to make Salmeur a little bit better than it was yesterday. And you care about the salmon. At Salmeur, we are one team performing together. Thank you to everybody. Today's presentation will follow the same structure as before. I will take you through some Q1 highlights as well as the different business segments before CFO Ulrik walks you through the financial update. To conclude, I will show some of the record strong biological key figures we have delivered before ending with the increased volume guidance for 2026. In Norway, we harvested 56,300 tons at a margin of NOK 27.3 per kilo. Overall, the Norwegian operations delivered an operational EBIT of NOK 1,536 million. Including Icelandic salmon and Salmair Ocean, we harvested 60,300 tonnes in the quarter and delivered a result of NOK 1,512 million, corresponding to a margin of NOK 25.1 per kilo. We have delivered record strong biological performance in Norway, and in central Norway we have seen a positive cost development. Profitability in sales and industry was affected by the InnovaMar upgrade, which impacted capacity utilization, cost levels and volume allocation during the period. As announced, toward the end of the quarter, we received approval to convert the development licenses for Arctic offshore farming. Results from Iceland and Scottish seafarms were weak, driven by high costs across the value chain in both companies. Based on what we have seen so far, we are increasing our 2026 volume guidance in Norway by 12,000 tons as a result of strong biology. The other segments remain unchanged. We therefore expect total harvest volume in 2026 to increase to 330,000 tons, up 29,000 tons or 10% from 2025. To provide a bit more details, let us look closer at the Q1 results. which in central Norway we harvested 35,900 tons in a quarter and delivered an operational EBIT of NOK 1,069 million, corresponding to EBIT per kilo of 29.8. This represents a significant increase in harvest volume compared with last year, and the biological performance during the period was very strong. The autumn 24 generation accounted for most of the harvest in the period. This is a generation that has performed well at sea, and as a result we are seeing a lower harvest cost than in previous quarters. The biological status in central Norway remains good. Volume in the second quarter is expected to be somewhat higher than in the same period last year. At the same time, we expect cost to be at the same level. This is driven by a larger share of volume coming from sites with somewhat higher cost in the second quarter. Looking beyond that, however, we expect cost to come down in the second half of the year. Based on what we have seen so far, 2026 volume guidance for central Norway is increased by 5,000 tons, up to 162,000 tons. In northern Norway, we harvested 20,400 tons in a quarter with an operational EBIT of NOK 644 million and EBIT per kilo of 31.6. 2025 was a very strong biological year for northern Norway, and this positive trend continued into the first quarter of 2026. Cost in the first quarter increased somewhat because a very strong site from the spring 24th generation, which contributed significantly to harvest volumes in Q4, represented a smaller share of the Q1 volumes. Looking ahead, Biological status here is also good, and we will continue harvesting the autumn 24 generation in the second quarter. We expect a somewhat lower cost level in the second quarter compared with Q1. Q2 volume is expected to be significantly higher than in the same quarter last year. As in central Norway, 2026 volume guidance for northern Norway is also being increased by 7,000 tons, up to 120,000 tons. Moving on to Salmar Ocean, where 300 tons were harvested and operational EBITDA for the period was NOK 3 million. Production at Ocean Farm 1, which started in August, has also delivered very strong biological performances in this production cycle. Low mortality, good growth, and no sea lice treatments. As a result of the strong growth, we had to start harvesting from this unit toward the end of Q1, and the remaining harvest volume for the year will come in Q2 as the unit was emptied in May. bringing total volume a bit over guidance to 5,100 tons. In addition, toward the end of Q1, we received encouraging news from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries when the conversion of the development licenses for AOF was approved. The 6,122 tonnes of MAB will now become part of our ordinary production capacity in northern Norway, enabling us to utilise these licences on the same basis as our other licences in the region. The sales and industry segment delivered an operational EBIT of NOK minus 131 million. The first quarter is a low-volume quarter due to the seasonal variations in our industry. We therefore choose to upgrade InnovaMar, our largest harvesting and processing facility, in this period. This upgrade meant the facility was closed for large parts of the quarter, resulting in low capacity utilization during the period. This affected value chain costs financially as we relied on more external harvesting facilities and were not able to handle all the fish scheduled for harvesting and processing in the most optimal way. However, this was a necessary upgrade in order to increase capacity and enable us to harvest, process and sell our salmon even more efficiently going forward. The contract share was 47% in the quarter and had a slightly negative contribution versus previous quarters, both due to higher market price and because in 2026 we have rolled into new contracts with somewhat lower price points than we had in 2025. Demand for our products remains very strong, something we noticed at the Seafood Expo in Barcelona in April. Even though market prices fluctuate more from week to week than before, and that may create some uncertainty, customers are contacting us to lock up the volume well into 2027, because they view salmon as a strategically important product for their own customers. We therefore have a positive view of the market in 26 and several statistics indicate that most of the volume growth has already been taken out and we expect almost no supply growth for the remainder of the year. In the second quarter, the contract share is 37% and because we increased volume guidance for the year, the contract share for the full year has been reduced to 33%. Moving to the West Fjords in Iceland, we harvested 3,700 tonnes in a quarter with an operational EBIT of NOK minus 2 million and EBIT per kilo of minus 0.5. This weak result was affected by our decision during the period to increase harvesting from a site that experienced certain biological challenges. The fish had a low average weight, which impacted both cost levels and price achievement during the period. Looking ahead, we expect somewhat higher costs in Q2 as some of the biological challenges continued into the second quarter. At the same time, we expect significantly higher Q2 volume compared with the same quarter last year. We are maintaining 2026 volume guidance unchanged at 21,000 tonnes. Toward the end of the quarter, the Icelandic authorities also presented a proposal for a new regulatory framework for aquaculture in Iceland. The new proposal will now be considered by Altinge, and we are following this process closely with the authorities to help ensure a framework that enables Icelandic aquaculture to realize its full potential. Then we moved to our associate in Scotland, Scottish Seafarms. In the quarter, 5,400 tonnes were harvested with an operational EBIT of NOK 7 million and EBIT per kilo of 1.3. Harvest volume was as expected low in the quarter, which affected cost levels across the value chain. Cost levels were also affected by harvesting during the period from sites that experienced biological challenges in the second half of last year, resulting in elevated costs. The company reports a good biological status at sea and maintains its 2026 volume guidance unchanged at 43,000 tonnes. With that, I have come to the end of the operational update, and I would now like to hand over to Ulrik, who will take you through the financials.

speaker
Ulrik Steenvik
CFO

Thank you. Thank you, Frode, and good morning to all of you. Results in salmon farming come from a combination of long term decisions about the biological and financial results materialize over time and disciplined day to day operations where decisions must be made as conditions change. In that context, a culture that enables timely and sound decision making is critical, all grounded in the salmon terms. This quarter, we are pleased to report historically strong performance across several key biological parameters. The biological performance is also reflected in the financial numbers we will present shortly. And despite being only in May, in our volume guidance, as we have already realized, increased volumes so far. As a result, Salmar is a significant contributor to the growth in salmon supply from Norway in the first quarter of 26 compared to the same period last year. Year on year, higher harvest volumes, strong price realisation driven by a high superior share, increased average rates and lower costs across the value chain have led to an improvement in financial result. Combined with strict capex discipline, this leaves our financial position meaningfully stronger today than it was in February. Let me now turn to the numbers. I will start with the profit and loss statement, beginning with a comparison to the fourth quarter of 25. In the top right, you can see that operational EBIT decreased by NOK 322 million compared to the fourth quarter, from NOK 1,834 million to NOK 1,512 million. While this is a reduction in absolute terms, the change per kilo is positive at NOK 3.3 per kilo. If you look at the key drivers, seasonally lower volumes in the first quarter reduced operational EBIT by NOK 650 million. At the same time, higher price realisation increased operational EBIT by NOK 353 million. Driven by stronger market prices, we see Salmon up NOK 5.6 per kilo from the fourth quarter. That said, this increase is somewhat lower than we typically see at the start of the year, reflecting the highest supply in the first quarter 26, where Salmar was a significant contributor. And for Salmar specifically, price realization was supported by continued high superior share. However, it was negatively impacted by the upgrade at InnovaMar, which has reduced our flexibility in optimizing the allocation of our fish and had a negative effect on net price realization on fixed price contracts. So overall, Salmarsh price realisation increased by around NOK 6 per kilo versus the fourth quarter, but still ended slightly below Sea Salmon for the quarter. Turning to cost, as previously communicated and in line with expectations, costs across the value chain were stable in the first quarter. This is despite lower volumes through our own processing plants, driven by the temporary shutdown at NMR, which has prevented optimal utilization of capacity. Looking at biology, costs were stable overall, with mid, down and north somewhat up. As guided earlier, we expect costs in mid to increase somewhat in the second quarter, driven by harvests from sites with challenging production conditions in the second half of 2025. In north, we expect costs in the second quarter somewhat down. In total, stable costs in the second quarter. If you then look at Iceland and Ocean, these contributed a net negative of NOK 15 million, mainly driven by higher costs at one site in Iceland, following an accelerated harvest to safeguard fish welfare and reduce inter risk. Ocean, on the other hand, once again delivered strong biological performance. Moving to the profit and loss statement. We report an operational EBITDA of NOK 2036 million and an operational EBIT of NOK 1512 million. It is worth noting that operational EBIT in the first quarter is close to double the level we reported in the same quarter last year, clearly demonstrating the improvement in the underlying drivers. Production tax in Norway and resource tax in Iceland amounted to NOK 69 million in the quarter, a reduction of NOK 21 million from the fourth quarter, driven by lower volumes. Non-recurring items reduced earnings by NOK 7 million in the quarter. Net fair value adjustments were negative, driven by lower forward prices and fewer fish in sea compared to the end of fourth quarter 25. Share of profit from associates was negative at NOK 27 million, mainly due to a negative result from Scottish Sea Farms. Net financial expenses were NOK 274 million, which is NOK 60 million lower than the previous quarter, mainly driven by lower debt levels and lower interest rates. So to summarize, this results in a profit for the period of NOK 555 million, corresponding to an adjusted earnings per share of NOK 5.9. Let me now turn to the balance sheet. Total assets decreased by NOK 1,045 million from the previous quarter, ending at NOK 56.9 billion. The reduction is mainly driven by lower fair value adjustments and by capex levels being below depreciation in the quarter. Equity ratio increased to 36.6%, driven by the positive result of the tax. Net interest-bearing debt was reduced by NOK 562 million, ending at NOK 20.3 billion. The leverage ratio nibbed over EBITDA has come down to 3.1. With increasing earnings and continued strict spending discipline, we expect both debt levels and leverage to decline further going forward. Turning then to biomass. If you look at the chart in the bottom left, total biomass in Norway is down 1% year on year across all companies and down 6% compared to the previous quarter. Against that backdrop, it is not surprising that salmone in Norway is up year on year with 9%. but stable biomass in a quarter where we do not stock fish is more surprising and clearly demonstrates the strong biological performance we have delivered in the quarter. Combined with good cost control, cost per kilo is down 10% compared to the first quarter last year and down 2% compared to the previous quarter. This supports a solid foundation for both higher volumes and lower costs going forward. Even though next quarter will be impacted by specific sites we are harvesting from, meaning that further cost reductions are expected to materialize from the third quarter. As mentioned before, our strategy is to be optimally and robustly financed at all times and to stay ahead of maturities. At the end of the first quarter 26, we had NOK 11.4 billion in available liquidity in the group, including available facilities and partially owned subsidiaries. In February, we have issued a new 10-year bond of NOK 750 million. And as you can see from the chart in the bottom right, we have flexible funding structure, diversified between bank, financing and bonds, with two maturities coming next year. We have sufficient liquidity to manage these maturities, and we also have extension options on both the term loan and the revolving credit facility. Let us now turn to the change in the net interest bearing debt, including leasing in the quarter. Going forward, we will adjust how we communicate net interest bearing debt as we see that it can be challenging for users of the accounts to assess and compare debt and leverage. We will therefore provide more detail and carve out accounting debt related to IFRS 16, which mainly relates to lease liabilities, typically linked to time charter agreements for well boats. As a result, leasing going forward will refer only to leasing from financial institutions. Looking at the numbers, we start the quarter with NIBD including leasing of NOK 22,549 million. Adjusting for IFRS 16 leasing of NOK 1.4 billion, we are left with net interest-bearing debt including leasing to financial institutions of NOK 21,147 million. During the quarter, we generated positive operating cash flow with EBITDA of NOK 2 billion. We paid NOK 70 million in taxes in a period. Changes in working capital, mainly driven by a reduction in payables and increased biomass in freshwater, increased NIB by NOK 701 million. Net investments amounted to NOK 256 million in the quarter, reflecting a lower investment level in line with our guided capex for 26. Investments in fixed assets totaled to NOK 278 million, mainly related to sea operations and upgrades linked to the temporary shutdown at Inomar. Taking into account interest payments and other changes, we end the quarter with net interest-paying debt, including leasing to financial institutions, of NOK 20,561 million, a reduction of NOK 586 million. Another volume of 330,000 tons this year, the resulting Nib per kilo ratio is at an appropriate level. As Trude mentioned, towards the end of the first quarter, we received approval for the conversion of the development licenses related to Arctic offshore farming. We paid NOK 130 million for this, executed early in the second quarter. This conversion enables increased utilization of the licenses and supports higher production in the periods and years ahead. And with that, I will conclude the financial review and hand the floor back to Hruda.

speaker
Frodo Arntsen
CEO

Thank you, Ulrik. Before starting the strategic update, I want to show you a film from Freya.

speaker
Freya
Film Narrator

Man kan ofte føle seg litt alene i herre jobben. Alene med tankane sine. Ut på det uendelige havet. It might sound like an excuse to feel small and insignificant. But it's not. The sea is a reminder that we are part of the same entity. And even if you are just a tiny bit of a machine, Is machinery something to be proud of? It's bigger than a single person. At the same time, it doesn't work without a single person. Is it 4% of the food we eat that comes from the sea? 5%? You can hear at once that it doesn't work. There is a lack of food. It is clear that we must find ways to renew the ocean. And even as a small part of it, it is incredibly inspiring to be a part of. It makes the job meaningful. Thank you.

speaker
Frodo Arntsen
CEO

Yes. As the film aims to illustrate, we operate in a highly important and meaningful industry. Every day, we go to work to ensure that people around the world have access to nutritious, healthy and sustainable protein-rich food on their tables. In fact, there is no other industrial animal protein production that delivers the volumes we do in such a sustainable manner. In the film, you saw some of our employees working on what we refer to as the golden sites of the coast of Røya, not far from our headquarters. Almost exactly one year ago, we stood here and said that we had stocked this area with fish and wished them well for the production cycle. A tremendous effort has been made since that, and the results are outstanding biologically, now that we have started harvesting from these sites. However, it is not only these locations that have performed well so far in 2026. In fact, there are areas and sites in the northern part of Norway that have delivered equally strong results over the same period. So now it's not longer just about one golden site in Salmeir. We are now seeing multiple high-performing areas across the Salmeir system delivering excellent results. In fact, we have to go back more than 10 years to see comparable figures in Salmar. On the screen, you can see the maximum and minimum levels for a range of biological key figures over the past 10 years, and also measured against last year. And as you can see, the first four months of 2026 have been significantly better for Salmar. Compared for the average over the past 10 years, the mortality is 52% lower, the growth is 31% higher, the superior share is 10 percentage points higher, and average rate is 7% higher. As I have said many times, our job is to ensure that our production takes place on the salmon's terms. That is why I am especially pleased with these biological results and that we are now back to a more normal salmoy, where the biological matrix is coming in at industry-leading levels. And we will continue working to make our production steadily better. The results we have seen are not about one single action. That is why we focus on continuously implementing improvements across the value chain to make us even better. And as always at Solmar, the right technology for the right site is crucial. One solution is not the answer for every site. Every site is different, so we must ensure that we use the right technology at the right time. Vaccines are also important. Remember, we do not use any antibiotics, and the continuous development of vaccines is very important. Breeding may not be talked about as much because production cycles are very long and it takes time before the effects become visible. But there is no doubt that the right genetics also help create strong biological performance. I can also mention that at Salmar Genetics' broodstock facility, we are now starting an expansion that will give us even greater capacity to produce more of our own genetics in the years to come. We know that Salmar reuma is a strong salmon strain. In addition, there is feed, sea lice treatment, closed cages, well boats, harvesting and secondary processing facilities. Salmaid has a wide range of important initiatives underway. Everything we do today must be done better than yesterday. At Salmar, we have always said that we intend to lead the further development of the industry. And these days, we are also seeing rapid progress in AI for aquaculture. And not long ago, we announced that we had entered into a strategic partnership with tidal to further strengthen this development we already have tidal equipment in operation and going forward we hope to see even more benefits from fish health monitoring autonomous feeding new sealized treatment technology and the use of ai to generate deeper insight from all the data We have on the fish the equipment and the environment in which we operate. This is an exciting time and I believe this can help us better understand the salmon's needs so that we can become even more efficient going forward and continue to deliver strong biological key figures in the future as well. We are now approaching the end and wrapping up today's presentation. As mentioned, we are increasing our volume guidance in Norway by 12,000 tons to 282,000 tons, including what we expect from the other segments. This gives us a total of 330,000 tons for 2026. representing growth of 29,000 tonnes, or 10% compared with last year. As you can see from the graph on the right, we are now truly beginning to realise some of the volume potential in our value chain, and we expect further volume growth in the years ahead. We have the potential to increase volume by 48,000 tonnes, or 15% from the 26th level. Within our value chain, we don't need to carry out capacity expanding investments. We have a positive view of what lies ahead. As mentioned, biology is strong and we expect stable costs in Q2. And we also expect costs to decline in the second half of the year. I have already gone through the guidance ahead, and you can see it summarized on the right-hand side of the slide. Although we are increasing guidance by 12,000 tons for 2026, it is important to note that this is growth we have already realized so far in 2026. We therefore expect lower volume growth for the rest of the year, both for ourselves and globally, compared with the growth we saw in 2025. And our customers want more salmon. We continue to experience strong demand. With that, we have come to the end of the presentation. Thank you very much for your attention. Our next presentation will be in August. And until then, I expect everyone will have a lot of salmon on the menu this summer. Thank you very much.

Disclaimer

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