Average operating margin of 41 Norwegian smolt producers rises 17.5 percentage points over five years; Nordlaks Smolt leads at 48.8%

Norwegian seafood media iLaks published on 6 November 2026 a review of the financial statements of 41 Norwegian smolt (settefisk) producers. The data show that the average operating margin in the smolt segment rose by 17.5 percentage points over five years, with leading companies that have already established scale advantages further consolidating their position and a clear profitability gap emerging between companies.

Top of the margin ranking is Nordlaks Smolt with an operating margin of 48.8%. The company raised its operating revenue to NOK 540 million in 2025, with operating profit rising to NOK 264 million; over the same period it invested NOK 278 million in new farming facilities, and fixed assets and projects under construction totalled more than NOK 1.5 billion at year-end.

Next come Firda Settefisk Arnafjord and Firda Settefisk, both with operating margins clearly above 40%, at 47.4% and 46.3% respectively. Bindalssmolt follows at 37.7%, with Helgeland Smolt at 37.3%.

Measured by turnover in Norwegian kroner, SalMar Settefisk is the largest company in the sample: operating revenue of NOK 1,516.1 million in 2025 and operating profit of NOK 294.4 million, corresponding to an operating margin of 19.4%.

Some companies have invested heavily in recent years. Alongside an operating margin of 37.3% in 2025, Helgeland Smolt's new facility construction also gave rise to several disputes with contractors and suppliers. Nekton Settefisk's turnover rose to NOK 151 million, but its operating margin was only 6.9%; the company recently completed a large-scale capacity expansion at Smøla, tripling its capacity. At Eide Smolt, rising investment, depreciation and financial costs turned its operating margin negative in 2025 at -16.6%, despite a substantial increase in turnover.

Several companies that had previously come under pressure improved markedly in 2025. Silver Seed recovered from -12.9% in 2024 to 22.5%; Skorstad Settefisk rose from -116.3% to 8.1%; Statland Settefisk edged up from 17.3% to 17.8%. Setran Settefisk is among the biggest improvers in the sample, with its operating margin recovering to 19.5% in 2025 after -59.4% in 2024 and -56.9% in 2023.

At the other end of the sample, Polarsmolt stood at -11.5%, Sørsmolt at -35.8% and Vik Settefisk at -46.8%.

iLaks's review also lists the operating margin series for each company from 2021 to 2025. Nordlaks Smolt recorded 22.8%, 21.5%, 33.8%, 38.9% and 48.8% over the five years; Firda Settefisk Arnafjord -25.0%, 40.2%, 43.2%, 42.8% and 47.4%; Firda Settefisk 26.8%, 40.9%, 38.2%, 41.6% and 46.3%; Bindalssmolt 21.5%, 20.8%, 36.4%, 42.0% and 37.7%; Helgeland Smolt 14.9%, 4.7%, 19.5%, 31.8% and 37.3%; SalMar Settefisk -5.0%, 12.4%, 47.7%, 33.4% and 19.4%.

Other companies' 2025 operating margins were: Sisomar 33.2%, Nesfossen Smolt 32.2%, Firda Settefisk Alvøen 31.3%, Olden Oppdrettsanlegg 31.1%, Flatanger Settefisk 29.0%, Hardingsmolt 28.5%, Måsøval Åsen 27.3%, Fjordsmolt 26.2%, Måsøval Urke 24.5%, Fossing Storsmolt 23.7%, Blom Settefisk 23.1%, ERKO Settefisk 22.5%, Sande Settefisk 20.2%, Eidesvik Settefisk 19.4%, Kvarøy Smolt 19.1%, Vikan Settefisk 18.6%, Osland Settefisk 18.3%, Årdal Aqua 17.9%, Trøndersmolt 16.6%, Aglen Settefisk 15.6%, Tytlandsvik Aqua 15.5%, Lødingen Fisk 14.9%, Astafjord Smolt 7.0%, Fister Smolt 6.8%, Tombre Settefisk 3.9%, Nordland Akva 1.1%.

The background to the smolt producers' heavier investment is that demand for larger salmon smolt continues to strengthen in the aquaculture industry, because larger smolt can shorten the time farming companies spend in seawater. To meet this demand, smolt producers have invested heavily in new facilities and sharply increased capacity, and the 2025 financial data above reflect operating results after this round of investment.