• Q4 Revenue: NOK792 million.
• Q4 EBIT: NOK23 million.
• Q4 EBITDA: NOK76 million.
• Full Year Revenue: Approximately NOK3.5 billion (adjusted).
• Full Year EBIT: NOK184 million (adjusted).
• Full Year EBITDA: NOK381 million.
• Order Intake Q4: NOK1.081 billion, with NOK946 million from sea-based segment.
• Order Backlog: NOK2.658 billion.
• Dividend: NOK1 per share for the first half of 2025.
• Net Interest Bearing Debt Increase: NOK93 million in Q4.
• Available Cash at End of Q4: NOK471 million.
• CapEx Q4: NOK59 million.
• CapEx Full Year: NOK187 million.
• EBITDA Margin Q4: 9.7%.
• EBITDA Margin Full Year: 10% for sea-based, 6.5% for land-based.
• 2025 Revenue Guidance: Approximately NOK4 billion.
• 2025 EBIT Margin Guidance: Minimum 6%.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Signs with FRA:3QI.

Release Date: February 14, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• AKVA Group ASA (FRA:3QI) reported an all-time high quarterly order intake of NOK946 million, driven by the deep farming solution.
• The company was awarded two new land-based contracts at the start of the year, with significant contract values of EUR20 million and EUR30 million.
• AKVA Group ASA (FRA:3QI) announced a dividend payment for the first time in three years, reflecting positive expectations for the first half of 2025.
• The company achieved a full-year EBIT of NOK184 million, representing the highest EBIT in its history.
• Strong momentum in the Nordic market with a 7% revenue increase in Q4 compared to Q4 2023, and a significant increase in land-based revenue by 53%.

Negative Points

• Q4 activity level was lower than expected, with revenue of NOK792 million, attributed to late order intake in December.
• High financial costs in the quarter, including ordinary interests of EUR24 million and currency losses.
• Digital segment experienced a disappointing top line in Q4, with an 18% reduction in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Net interest-bearing debt increased by NOK93 million in the quarter, driven by increased networking capital.
• Challenges in the US market for land-based salmon production due to complicated permit processes.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you provide a capital expenditure (CapEx) guidance for 2025? A: Yes, the CapEx for 2025 will not exceed that of 2024, which was approximately between NOK160 million and NOK180 million. - Ronny Meinkohn, Chief Financial Officer

Q: With the strong order intake for farming, do you foresee any production bottlenecks in the first half of 2025? A: We had a bottleneck related to production, but it has been resolved. We have insourced the production of the Eldom and installed a new production line. We have also strengthened our project organization, so we do not foresee any significant bottlenecks. We expect a fair uptake in revenue for the first half of 2025 compared to 2024. - Knut Nesse, Chief Executive Officer

Q: Is there any development in full-scale land-based salmon production? A: Currently, there are no signed contracts for full-scale land-based salmon production. However, we expect interest to return, particularly in China, as the NWA resumes harvesting. We are hopeful for more appetite in China and possibly some movement in the U.S., although it is complicated due to permitting issues. - Knut Nesse, Chief Executive Officer

Q: What are the expected normalized margins for the digital segment, and when can we expect them? A: We are currently at around a 20% EBIT margin for the digital business. We believe we can achieve well above a 30% EBIT margin with increased volume, as we have the organization in place to support higher revenue levels. We expect to see improvements gradually throughout the year. - Ronny Meinkohn, Chief Financial Officer

Q: Have you observed any synergies from recent digital transactions? A: We have not seen a direct impact on revenue from the Observe acquisition, as we already had a resale agreement. However, we have seen improved margins and plan to utilize Observe's AI capabilities to further develop our digital products. - Ronny Meinkohn, Chief Financial Officer

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.