Interview: Arne Møgster, CEO of Austevoll Seafood

Deborah Hobi | April 21, 2022

We had the opportunity for a short interview with Arne Møgster, CEO of Austevoll Seafood. Austevoll Seafood has been one of our top positions in the Bonafide Global Fish Fund for more than two years now. With its subsidiary Lerøy Seafood, Austevoll accounts for approximately 12% of the fund volume – and the performance is very respectable. We wanted to know from the CEO: What are the advantages for investors when investing in the fish & seafood sector? What opportunities does the market offer? And, where does Arne Møgster see the growth drivers for Austevoll for the future?

Starting as a fishing company, Austevoll Seafood is now an industrial holding company with three different focus areas: salmon, whitefish, and pelagic fish. Onshore activities meanwhile cover the whole value chain with processing plants in the North Atlantic region as well as in Peru and Chile. Clearly, without the acquisition of the majority shareholding in the Lerøy Seafood Group, Austevoll Seafood's core business would have been narrower. Austevoll’s recent bumper earnings were largely driven by Lerøy, which has its hand both in the salmonid aquaculture industry and the whitefish sector. Besides, Arne Møgster stated in the interview that the development of the salmon price is ultimately decisive for the positive evolution of Austevoll’s earnings.

Mr. Møgster mentioned that the company was founded with the fundamental conviction that there will be a lack of protein in the world and that the Fish & Seafood sector brings the necessary capacity to feed a growing population without harming the planet.
The Fish & Seafood sector is particularly attractive to investors due to its sustainable attributes. Especially during the last decade, sustainability has become an important issue in the sector. Thus, the growing demand for healthy proteins from the sea due to population growth and social trends is what prepares a promising future for the industry.

Picture Austevoll Value Chain

“We want to develop, we want to grow.”

We at Bonafide view Austevoll as a firm with an extremely solid financial structure. The seafood giant had yet another successful final quarter in 2021. The low debt level is, according to Mr. Møgster, historically conditioned. In general, however, low leverage ratios are observed in the industry. Nevertheless, the industry is actually a capital-intensive one and the regulatory requirements are more likely to increase. Two factors basically encourage the company towards investments on a grand scale: growing expectations from stakeholders and the urge to prepare the industry for the future. “We want to develop, we want to grow”, Møgster said. He further highlighted the importance of steady dividends. The company will continue to pay out 20-40% of the net result.

Picture Aquacultur Austevoll

Outlook

The company has sustainably grown since 2006 and has high ambitions for the future. The Group has the financial flexibility to support its strategy of further organic growth and to carry out strategic acquisitions.
The Møgster family holding holds more than 50% of Austevoll. Arne Møgster, as the current CEO, is confident that he will someday be able to pass on the family business to the next generation in a very solid position. Who among the Møgsters will be the new captain in the future remains to be seen, he says with a smile.

Picture Father and Son Mogster

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