Salmar Shares Fall 3.5% on Target Cuts

Salmar Shares Fall 3.5% on Target Cuts

Salmar (OSE:SALM) shares declined 3.5% on Monday after analysts at SEB and Barclays reduced their price targets. SEB cut its target to NOK 610 from NOK 635, while Barclays lowered its target to NOK 545 from NOK 560.

The stock reaction came despite the company reporting first‑quarter EBIT that was slightly above consensus estimates. Barclays highlighted that Salmar’s first‑quarter harvest volume of 60.3 kilotonnes (kt) exceeded expectations, with strong underlying performance in Norwegian farming offsetting continued weakness in the downstream value chain and in Icelandic salmon operations.

Salmar raised its fiscal‑2026 volume guidance by 12kt to approximately 308kt, excluding Scottish sea farms. The guidance is driven by a robust biological performance in Norway of 285kt, with Iceland volumes remaining at 21kt and Salmar Ocean at 5kt. This represents an 8% increase versus fiscal‑2025, and most of the incremental volume is already front‑loaded into the first quarter.

The company indicated that costs are expected to remain broadly stable in the second quarter, with a clear improvement anticipated in the second half of the year. First‑quarter cost performance was affected by temporary operational impacts, including the InnovaMar processing upgrade, challenged sites in Central Norway, and seasonal mix effects.

Salmar’s contract share stood at an elevated 37% for the quarter and is projected at 33% for fiscal‑2026, significantly ahead of competitors Mowi and Leroy.

Barclays trimmed its pricing assumption for fiscal‑2026 to NOK 77 per kilogram, down from NOK 80 per kilogram, reflecting strong first‑quarter supply conditions and lower pricing. Consequently, Barclays now expects fiscal‑2026 EBIT of NOK 7,288 million.