Mowi chairman Ole-Eirik Lerøy resigns after 15 years, Ørjan Svanevik proposed as successor

NORWAY – Mowi ASA, a leading global salmon producer from Norway, has announced that its Chairman of the Board, Ole-Eirik Lerøy, is set to resign after 15 years in the role. 

Lerøy, who leaves during a challenging financial year for Mowi, will be succeeded by Ørjan Svanevik, subject to shareholder approval.

The decision comes as Mowi discloses its second-quarter financial results for 2024, which reveal a slight drop in operating revenues. 

The company reported a revenue total of EUR 1.34 billion (US$1.49 billion), marking a 2 percent decrease from the same quarter in 2023. 

Additionally, Mowi’s operational earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell by 23 percent year-on-year, reaching EUR 229.5 million (US$255.1 million).

Although other areas of Mowi’s business have seen improvement, the company acknowledges the persistent challenges impacting its overall performance. 

Despite these headwinds, Mowi continues to push towards its production target of 500,000 tonnes of salmon, up from the 375,000 tonnes it achieved in 2018. 

This growth target, the company states, has been aided by seasonal increases in harvests at sea and lower farming costs.

Mowi, headquartered in Bergen, Norway, also recently announced a review of its operations in Canada West. 

This comes after a recent Canadian government ruling that will ban open net-pen salmon farming in British Columbia by July 1, 2029. 

CEO Ivan Vindheim expressed disappointment in the government’s decision, emphasizing that it disregards what he described as years of sustainable practices conducted in collaboration with First Nations communities. 

He suggested that the decision may be more politically motivated than based on scientific findings, noting that Mowi’s British Columbia operations have traditionally been less profitable.