Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the presentation of SalMar's results for the fourth quarter of 2025. My name is Frode Arntsen, and I am the CEO of SalMar, and with me today we have our CFO, Ulrik Steinvik. At SalMar, it always comes down to produce salmon on the salmon terms. 2025 has been a financially weak year for SalMar, but operationally and biologically it has been a strong year, where we have managed to turn several parameters in a positive direction. That is why it is good to present the numbers today, showing that several indicators are now pointing the right way: biologically, cost-wise, and in terms of financial performance. The engagement, effort, and passion our employees have shown in 2025 make me really proud. We have had a 1-1.5 year with many demanding situations, but our people always step up to ensure that SalMar succeeds.
Around the clock, our employees work to ensure that our captain in the value chain, namely the salmon, has the optimal conditions to thrive. This is now reflected in several key indicators. We have record-high biomass at sea with lower cost levels. We harvest fish at the end of Q4, and in January, with superior grades we haven't seen in 10 years. Mortality continues to fall, and our greenhouse gas emissions are significantly decreasing. All these indicators show that the work being done is strong and is steering our ship in the right direction. Our focus is always forward. We must always do better today than we did yesterday. That requires continuing and reinforcing the work SalMar has done since 1991: ensuring strong alignment with the environment in which we operate so we can optimize for fish, people, and value creation. Today's presentation will follow the same order as before.
I will take you through some highlights for 2025 and Q4, as well as the various segments. CFO Ulrik will then give the financial update. Finally, I will say a few words about SalMar celebrating 35 years and give you a glimpse of the journey we have been on, and we'll continue forward on. In 2025, SalMar reached a milestone by harvesting 300,000 tons for the first time when including volume from associated companies. The total ended at 300,900 tons. Financially, however, 2025 was a weak year for SalMar. This was due to the high share of downgraded fish in the first half, which led to lower prices, as well as global supply growth in 2025 that pushed down market prices for salmon. But underlying demand has remained strong, and we used the year actively to develop both new and existing markets, which gives us confidence going forward.
Norway harvested more fish than ever, and the development in Northern Norway was particularly strong in 2025, with growth and survival levels we have never seen before. Sales and Industry delivered historically strong results driven by high utilization of plants and raw materials throughout the year, as well as positive contributions from contracts. We also completed acquisitions. Knutshaugfisk became part of SalMar in January and Wilsgård in August, both strengthening our position in key areas. Low market prices and biological challenges made 2025 difficult for Iceland and Scotland, and both are expected to perform better in 2026 with increased volumes. Even though the year was financially weak, we still have a strong financial position with solid liquidity and a positive outlook. The board proposed a dividend of 10 NOK per share for 2025.
Operationally and biologically, 2025 was a good year, reflected in several sustainability indicators moving the right way. Fish survival increased by two percentage points, showing that the yearly work on fish welfare is paying off. At the same time, greenhouse gas emissions per kilo produced continue to fall. In 2025, we had 41% lower emissions than in 2020. Few others in Norway achieved this, and we succeeded by focusing on our largest emission source feed: local processing and logistics. We also saw improvements in workplace safety, with fewer injuries leading to absence even as activity increased and more people joined the company. This positive development is also being recognized externally. At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, SalMar was ranked the world's most sustainable food and beverage producer out of over 8,000 companies analyzed globally.
As long as we do things right, the industry has unlimited potential when we take care of fish, people, and the environment. Now, look closer at the Q4 results. In total for Norway, we harvest 80,300 tons at a margin of NOK 23 per kilo. For the Norwegian operation as a whole, we delivered an Operational EBIT of NOK 1,843 million. Including Icelandic Salmon and SalMar Ocean, we harvested 84,100 tons in a quarter with a result of NOK 1,834 and a margin of NOK 21.8 per kilo. We have lower cost levels and a strong performance from our Norwegian farming segments continued into Q4, with high growth, good survival, and a high share of Superior Grade fish. Higher market prices reduced the contribution from Sales and Industry compared to the strong results earlier in the year. Iceland is finally back in positive territory again, driven by lower cost levels.
Unfortunately, Q4 was very weak for Scotland. Volume guidance for 2026 remains unchanged for Norway and Iceland, but we are reducing somewhat for Scotland. For 2026, we expect harvest volumes of 318,000 tons and an increase of 7,000 tons, or 6%. In Central Norway, we harvested 43,400 tons in a quarter with an Operational EBIT of NOK 764 million, corresponding to EBIT per kilo of 17.6 NOK. The Autumn 2024 generation is the one we harvested the most from during the period, and this generation has a lower cost level than earlier generations harvested this year. Price achievement was somewhat soft in Q4 because we prioritized harvesting some small and weaker fish for fish welfare reasons, which affects average weight and therefore price achievement. However, this has not impacted growth or the current biological status of the fish in Central Norway.
The biological situation is good and significantly better compared at the same time last year, and we have to go back more than 10 years to find similar superior shares. Volumes in the first quarter will be significantly higher than last year. In January, SalMar was the company responsible for the strong growth in Norwegian export volume, driven by harvests in Central Norway. We are very pleased with the cost development in Q4 and expect further down into 2026. Volume guidance for 2026 remains unchanged at 157,000 tons. In Northern Norway, we harvested 36,900 tons in a quarter with an operational EBIT of NOK 1,160 million and EBIT per kilo of NOK 31.5. Q4 and 2025 have been a very strong year for Northern Norway. We continued harvesting our Spring 2024 generation and started with the Autumn 2024 generation.
We had positive cost development, good average weight, high superior share, strong growth, and high survival. Most of the volume was harvested early in the fourth quarter when prices were at their lowest. Looking ahead, the biological status is good. We will finish harvesting Spring 2024 and continue with Autumn 2024. Cost levels are expected to increase slightly from the very low level in Q4. Volumes in the first quarter are expected to be at the same level as last year. Volume guidance for 2026 remains unchanged at 113,000 tons. For SalMar Ocean, the operational EBITDA in the period was -NOK 11 million. Production on Ocean Farm 1, which started in August, is progressing very well with low mortality and good growth. We have not needed any sea lice treatment for this generation despite high lice pressure in the region.
Conversion applications for the AOF licenses have been submitted, and we are awaiting responses. Volume guidance for the year remains unchanged at 5,000 tons. Sales and Industry delivered an operational EBIT of -NOK 49 million. After several very strong quarters, Q4 was some weaker. We continued to have high utilization of our harvesting plants, but the contribution from sales was weak. The low average weight from Central Norway affected spot sales returns as smaller fish generated lower value. Higher market price and high superior shares from the farming segment resulted in higher input costs, impacting contributions from contracts and VAP division in the quarter. We also supported several large pre-agreed promotions for major contract customers in Q4. While this reduces margins in the quarter, it helps increase long-term demand. Demand for our products remains very strong, and we experience this daily in conversations with customers worldwide.
We therefore have a positive view of the market entering 2026. In Q1, we expect lower volumes through our facilities due to seasonal patterns. Contract coverage is around 50%. For the full year 2026, we have secured approximately 35% of our volume at fixed prices. The price level is somewhat lower than in 2025 but still attractive, and we have maintained and increased volumes to major customers in Asia, the US, and Europe. In Iceland, we harvested 3,800 tons in a quarter, delivering an operational EBIT of NOK 31 million and EBIT per kilo of NOK 8.1. It is good to see Iceland returning to positive results after starting to harvest the 2024 generation, which has significantly lower cost levels than earlier generations this year. Price achievement was good with a high average weight. Looking ahead, we expect similar cost levels in Q1 with significantly higher volumes than last year.
Volume guidance for 2026 remains unchanged. Our associated company in Scotland delivered a very weak result. Harvest volume in the quarter was 5,500 tons with an Operational EBIT of -186 million NOK and EBIT per kilo of -33.8 NOK. Volumes were expected to be low, but biological challenges at several sites caused by negative results. AGD gill health issues led to event-based mortality. Average harvest weight was also lower than in previous quarters, affecting both cost levels and price achievement. The biological situation for the moment is satisfying, and the biological performance improved towards the end of the quarter, but due to some challenges, the harvest volume for 2026 has been reduced by 2,000 tons to 43,000 tons. With this, I have reached the end of the operational update, and I would like to give the word to Ulrik, who will give you the financials update.
Thank you, Frode, and good morning to all of you. We have now concluded yet another year, a year that overall must be described as a financial deviation in SalMar's history, but at the same time, an end to the year that shows we are back on track where we are experiencing improvements in biology, reduced costs, and efficient handling and dynamic allocation and value creation of the salmon, made possible by discipline and a strong corporate culture based on that everything we do today should be done better than yesterday. That is how we always have done it, and that is how we will continue in SalMar. The consolidated financial results we present now for the fourth quarter are positively impacted by a lower cost level and the positive development we have seen in key figures for our biomass over an extended period.
At the same time, we have a record high biomass in the sea at the start of 2026 with lower costs and better biological status than we had one year ago. As part of the financial update, I will, at the end of my section, comment on expected investments for 2026 before concluding with a proposal for the dividend for 2025. Now it's time to look at the numbers, and I will begin with some comments related to the profit and loss statement. At the top right, we see that operational EBIT increased by NOK 1,123 million compared to the third quarter, from NOK 711 million to NOK 1,834 million. The change corresponds to an increase from 7.6 NOK per kilo to 21.8 NOK per kilo. Lower volume reduced operational EBIT by NOK 166 million.
The largest increase, NOK 801 million, is related to higher price achievement driven by increased market prices, where SeeSalmon for the fourth quarter increased by 17.2 NOK per kilo compared to the third quarter and thereby came in above last year for the first time in 2025. Due to timing, low average weight in Central Norway, fixed price contracts, and pre-agreed campaigns, we in SalMar did not experience the same change in price achievement despite a higher share of superior quality in harvested biomass. SalMar's price achievement increased by about 10 NOK per kilo compared to the third quarter and therefore ended below SeeSalmon in the quarter. As previously communicated and therefore as expected, we see lower cost out of stock across all our segments. Reduced cost contributed to NOK 350 million of the increase of the Operational EBIT.
For Norwegian operations, this corresponds to a cost reduction of approximately NOK 4 per kilo compared to the previous quarter, and we expect a further reduction in the costs going forward. Iceland and Ocean contribute positively with NOK 138 million, mainly driven by the lower cost level achieved in Iceland. Moving to the profit and loss statement, we see operational EBITDA at NOK 2,376 million and operational EBIT, as mentioned, at NOK 1,834 million. It is worth noting that operational EBIT generated in the fourth quarter amounts to nearly half of the annual operational EBIT of NOK 3,867 million, supporting the view that the first three quarters were deviations from the normal SalMar standard. Furthermore, we see that the production tax in Norway and resource tax in Iceland amount to NOK 90 million for the quarter, a reduction of NOK 8 million explained by reduced volume.
Non-recurring items reduce their result by NOK 82 million in a quarter and consist of costs related to litigations and settlements. Net fair value adjustments are positive due to reduced costs and improved biological status. The fair value adjustment increases the result by NOK 86 million. Share of profit from associated companies was negative with NOK 72 million, mainly explained by negative both Operational EBIT and net result from Scottish Sea Farms. Net financial cost amounts to NOK 334 million, which is NOK 183 million higher than the previous quarter. The increase is explained by last quarter being positively affected by NOK 220 million due to financial transactions. Underlying net financial cost is reduced in a quarter due to lower debt levels and lower interest rates.
This results in a profit before tax of NOK 1,342 million for the quarter and profit for a period of NOK 1,006 million, providing adjusted earnings per share of 6.6 NOK per share, and for the year, earnings per share total 12.3 NOK per share. Moving to the balance sheet, we see that total assets increased by NOK 124 million from the previous quarter, reaching NOK 57.9 billion, a relatively small change in a quarter. From the previous year, the increase of NOK 3,512 million is driven by acquisitions of Wilsgård and Knutshaugfisk, as well as an increase in biomass in sea. Both in Norway and Iceland, we have higher biomass levels compared to both the previous quarter and the same quarter last year. As shown in the bottom left graph, total biomass in Norway across all companies increased by only 1%, with SalMar being the largest contributor.
At the end of 2025, we had 15% more biomass in the sea in Norway with a cost per kilo that was 8% lower, supporting the foundation for increased volume and reduced costs going forward. The equity ratio increased to 34.8% as a result of the positive net result after tax. Net interest-bearing debt is reduced by NOK 803 million to NOK 20.8 billion. The debt ratio, NIBD, EBITDA, is reduced to 3.6. With improved earnings and strict discipline in use of capital, we expose debt and gearing to fall further going forward. As mentioned earlier, our strategy is to be optimally and robustly financed at all times and ahead of maturities. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, we had NOK 10.1 billion in available liquidity in the group, also taking into account the credit facilities of the partly owned subsidiaries.
As shown in the bottom right graph, we have flexible financing diversified between bank and bonds with two maturities coming up next year. We have sufficient liquidity to handle these maturities, and I can also mention that both the term loan and the revolving credit facility have extension options. We are therefore not concerned about these maturities and have a clear plan for managing the financing at all times. Furthermore, I would like to mention that we are now initiating a strategic review of our ownership in Hellesund Fiskeoppdrett, where we own 33.5%. We will return to the market later if we have any updates. Let's look at the change in net interest-bearing debt, including leasing, during the quarter. It started with NIBD, including leasing liabilities, of NOK 23,266 million. During the period, we had a positive cash flow from operations, where EBITDA was NOK 2.3 billion.
We paid NOK 6 million in taxes from a few smaller partly owned companies. Working capital buildup increased NIBD by 478 million NOK. Total investments amounted to 355 million NOK in a quarter. Investments in fixed assets totaled 364 million NOK, mainly related to sea-based operations. CapEx discipline in SalMar is strong, and total CapEx for the year ended at 1,984 million NOK, 33 million NOK lower than we guided one year ago. Including interest payments and change in leasing, we ended at 22,549 million NOK in NIBD, including leasing, at the end of fourth quarter 2025. In recent years, we have made significant investments, particularly in preventive technology against sea lice, which is believed to have contributed to improved biological results this past year. As we enter 2026, nearly 50% of our sites are equipped with preventive technology.
Having the right technology at the right site is crucial, and we will continue gaining experience before considering adjustments between sites or technologies. The CapEx level for 2026 is reduced by NOK 880 million compared to 2025, down to NOK 1,070 million, aligned with previously communicated CapEx levels and organic growth. With total CapEx approximately NOK 700 million or NOK 2.5 per kilo, we present maintenance CapEx. Among capacity investments, NOK 200 million in closed- net pens is the largest single project, and the investment is assessed to be economically sound. Several major and minor upgrades are also ongoing, particularly at InnovaMar, to ensure the facility remains efficient and competitive, thereby supporting optimal handling, allocation, and value creation of the fish. As outlined in the review, 2025 stands out as a deviation from our long-term financial performance trend.
Entering 2026, SalMar is in a stronger position with a record high biomass in sea, lower cost levels, and a sober CapEx level, positioning us for continued value creation. The board of SalMar proposes cash dividend of 10 NOK per share for the 2025 financial year, equal to an 81% payout ratio. This will, as usual, be subject to approval at our annual general meeting in June with payment thereafter. The proposed dividend is in accordance with SalMar's current dividend policy and in line with previous practice. With that, I will reach the end of the financial review and hand the word back to Frode.
Thank you, Ulrik. 35 years ago, on the 8th of February 1991, SalMar was founded by Gustav Witzøe. We started with eight employees in a small municipality in Norway on the island named Frøya and had two small farming sites and one processing facility. And today, 35 years later, we have grown to become the world's second-largest salmon producer with global reach. It has been a fantastic growth story made possible by local knowledge, built on the experience gathered from the generations before us, as well as competent, dedicated, and passionate employees who have managed to harness their potential. We have grown a lot over the last 35 years, but we still have an untapped potential as the growing world population needs more sustainable food.
Even though we produce 2.5 billion meals in 2026, we are only able to give one meal to less than a third of the world's population for one day. Imagine the potential going forward. It has also been a story of value creation for both local municipalities, suppliers, customers, and our owners. Since we were listed back in May 2007, SalMar has outperformed the rest of the Oslo Stock Exchange by close to seven times. This is no coincidence. Where we operate, a focused value chain to always make sure we do what is best for the salmon. By doing this, we, over time, gain the best biological, operational, and financial metrics. We will not rest on our laurels. We have strong ambitions going forward and will continue to be the leading salmon farmer and tap further into the opportunities that lie ahead of us.
We have a positive outlook for the period ahead. The biological situation is good, and we must go back 10 years to find similar, superior grades of the salmon. We also have record high biomass in both Norway and Iceland, with lower cost levels laying the foundation for increased volumes and strong performance. Guidance for the future has been reviewed and is summarized to the right on the slides. After high global volume growth in 2025, we expect significantly lower global supply growth in 2026, and demand for our products remains very strong. People need food and more sustainable food, which we are able to produce 365 days a year thanks to SalMar's strong setup and employees with genuine passion for salmon. We have then reached the end. Thank you for your attention. Our next presentation is in May.
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