Stolt Sea Farm increases sales by 16.5% and improves production margins

Stolt Sea Farm (SSF), Stolt-Nielsen's aquaculture division specialising in turbot and sole production, generated revenue of $117.6 million in the first nine months of 2026, up 16.5% from $101.0 million in the same period last year. Gross profit before adjustments arising from the fair value measurement of biological assets also increased by around 25%.

The development in reported operating profit was, however, significantly affected by the accounting valuation of biomass. The biological asset fair value adjustment moved from a positive contribution of $10.8 million in the first nine months of 2025 to a negative impact of $2.2 million in 2026. This swing contributed to reported operating profit falling from $36.7 million to $29.8 million, despite higher revenue and gross profit before the adjustment. Administrative and general expenses also increased, from $10.7 million to $14.0 million.

In the third quarter, Stolt Sea Farm generated revenue of $40.6 million, up 2.6% from $39.6 million in the same period of 2025. Gross profit before the biological asset adjustment remained virtually unchanged at $16.2 million, compared with $16.0 million a year earlier. According to Stolt-Nielsen, the business maintained a broadly stable underlying operating performance year-on-year, excluding the impact of the biomass valuation.

The performance comes as Stolt-Nielsen continues to invest in its aquaculture business. During the first nine months of 2026, the group spent $23.7 million on Stolt Sea Farm capital expenditure, of which $13.9 million was spent during the third quarter. As of 31 August, Stolt-Nielsen also had $48 million in outstanding investment commitments related to Sea Farm, in addition to expenditure already made during the year.