Grieg Seafood ASA - Review of financial reporting by Finanstilsynet
The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet) has reviewed certain accounting matters in the financial reporting of Grieg Seafood ASA (the “Company”). Following its review, Finanstilsynet has commented the following items:
- Clean-up costs in connection with a future closure of sites.
- Information on the expected share of salmon with superior quality when calculating the fair value of biomass in sea.
With respect to item 1, Grieg Seafood has, as part of its license terms, an obligation to remove all technical equipment when a site is closed permanently. Grieg Seafood regularly carries out replacement and rehabilitation of equipment at the locations in line with the equipment's life expectancy of 4 to 50 years. Since annual expenses in connection with the removal of equipment normally amount to insignificant amounts, the Company's practice has been to expense this on an ongoing basis. If a site is permanently closed, all remaining equipment must be removed, and additional costs may be incurred in a single period.
Even though, the Company intends to continue operations at its current sites over a long period of time, the Company takes note of Finanstilsynet’s comments in this regard. Therefore, the Company will recognize a removal obligation including associated notes in accordance with IAS 37 as of 31 December 2024. This will accordance with IFRIC 1 lead to an increase in the carrying amount of fixed assets. As of 31 December 2024, the effect for all sites is estimated to a mere increase in the range of MNOK 50 to MNOK 70 for both, liabilities and assets. From 2025, depreciation will increase by approx. NOK 3 million per year, whereas interest costs on the removal obligation will amount to approx. NOK 2 million per year. In addition, other operating costs will be reduced as ongoing replacement and rehabilitation expenses will be recognized as a reduction of the removal obligation, Grieg Seafood deems that this change will only have a minor effect on the Company's key figures.
As regards the fair value calculation of the biomass in sea in accordance with IFRS 13, various unobservable inputs are used. Grieg Seafood provides information on the significant unobservable inputs in the annual report, such as expected price, volume and discount rate. In 2023 and 2024, there has been greater variation in the superior quality share than normal. Therefore, Grieg Seafood has changed its practice as of Q3 2024 and commenced to provide more information on non-observable inputs such as expected superior share and quality discount for salmon that is not of superior quality. The annual report for 2024 will also include a sensitivity analysis for the quality distribution.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Atle Harald Sandtorv, CFO
Cell phone +47 908 45 252
About Grieg Seafood
Grieg Seafood ASA is one of the world's leading salmon farmers. Our farms are in Finnmark and Rogaland in Norway, and British Columbia as well as Newfoundland in Canada. Our headquarter is located in Bergen, Norway. Grieg Seafood ASA was listed at the Oslo Stock Exchange in June 2007.
Sustainable farming practices are the foundation of Grieg Seafood's operations. The lowest possible environmental impact and the best possible fish welfare is both an ethical responsibility and drive economic profitability.
To learn more, please visit www.griegseafood.com.
This information has been submitted pursuant to the Norwegian Securities Trading Act § 5-12 and MAR.