Chilean salmon giant reports strong Q2 performance

Presenting its Q2 performance to the Chilean Financial Markets Commission, the company has unveiled a positive operational period in what it says has been a challenging environment for the international salmon market.

It said the period was marked by volatility stemming from tariffs imposed in the United States and increased Atlantic salmon harvests from Norway and Chile.

Chile currently faces tariffs of 10% on imports to the US, the same rate as the UK, but lower than salmon rivals Norway and Iceland which are currently being levied at 15%.

AquaChile reports, however, that it managed to weather the tariff trade turmoil thanks to the performance of its operations and a balanced market portfolio. It also successfully managed to reduce costs during the period.

AquaChile’s EBITDA margin was 17.2%, well up on the 14.1% margin recorded in the second quarter of 2024. This resulted in an operating income before fair value of US $61.9 million (£47m) and net income of US $41m (£30m).

AquaChile is based in Patagonia in the south of Chile, where it was founded, and it has grown over the years to become the country’s largest salmon farmer. It farms both Atlantic and Coho salmon and has a healthy export trade with the United States and with Japan, where its Coho salmon is highly popular.