Statt Torsk postpones production to reduce costs

Stokkeneset, Stadlandet, Norway-based cod-farming company Statt Torsk, after launching a strategic review, has decided to modify its production plans at its Rekvika facility and postpone planned new production.

The new plan is a direct result of it identifying a potential industrial partner, the company said. On 16 August, the company announced via a posting to the Oslo Børs that it received a letter of intent from Vesterålen Havbruk to form a potential business combination.

In the announcement, Statt Torsk said it “may temporarily modify its plans to transfer juveniles to its Rekvika site” as part of the new business combination.

Now, the company has issued a new update indicating the company’s board of directors has moved forward with the plans to postpone production, “due to the ongoing strategic process and due to the risk of not achieving a fully financed production cycle in the capital marked in order to complete the production.”

As a result, Statt Torsk said, it should have a reduced cost level going forward, and the juveniles that were meant to be transferred into Rekvika will either be sold or destroyed.

The move to find an industrial partner and restrict production to control costs comes in the wake of a challenging start to 2023. Statt Torsk CEO Gustave Brun-Lie called the company’s Q1 2023 results “disappointing,” and mortality incidents at its Rekvika and Stokkeneset farms had a financial impact that was compounded by low cod prices – on average the company achieved just NOK 36.00 (USD 3.53, EUR 3.21) per kilogram for its fish.   

Photo courtesy of Statt Torsk