The Scottish Salmon Company (SSC) is back in the black but expecting no major boost to production at its fish farms this year, despite recent investment, as the industry wages war on sea-lice.
SSC, which employs more than 450 people across headquarters in Edinburgh and nearly 60 sites in the Hebrides and on the west coast, said yesterday it made pre-tax profits of £9.1million last year.
This was after losses of £405,000 in 2015.
About this time last year, the firm was targeting annual production of 30,000 tonnes of fish.
But the actual total came in at less than 25,000 tonnes and the company expects similar volumes this year.
Sea-lice, a major scourge of salmon farms globally, is costing Scottish farmers millions of pounds in lost output and expensive treatments.
Some of SCC’s sites have also suffered outbreaks of pancreas disease, leading to increased mortalities and smaller fish.
Last year, SCC commissioned a new site on Benbecula as part of growth plans aimed at increasing capacity. A new harvesting station in Ardyne, Argyll, became operational in January.
“We continue to make good progress in delivering our strategy for long term sustainable growth,” chief executive Craig Anderson said yesterday.
He added: “Biological issues continued to affect the forecasted rise in volume, however, we have made good progress in treating these.
“The global salmon market is strong and prices are forecast to remain high.”
