New Zealand King Salmon Investments Limited (NZKS) has today delivered its financial results, demonstrating significant progress on its growth plan. The results are the company’s first under a revised 30 September balance date, reflecting a shortened eight-month reporting period.
The Blue Endeavour pilot pens being towed to their ‘staging site’ at Waihinau Bay, Pelorus Sound. The pens were launched and towed to the bay in April 2025.
Financial Highlights
- Pro-forma EBITDA (our preferred performance measure and the profit measure that NZKS guides to): $7.1m (8 months ended 30 September 2025).
- Balance sheet remains strong with net cash on hand ~$46.6m.
- FY26 guidance: Pro-forma EBITDA with a range of $9m to $15m and Pro-forma EBIT with a range of ($3m loss) to $3m profit.
- Full financial results can be found here, and our Annual Report here.
Growth and Investment Highlights
- Two Blue Endeavour Pilot pens have been constructed and launched in Picton and are currently moored at our inshore Waihinau site.
- The mooring grid for Blue Endeavour is underway, but progress has been delayed due to vessel suitability and weather windows. Once complete (estimated March 2026), the salmon will be relocated to Blue Endeavour.
- The Blue Endeavour service vessel “Whekenui”– a dedicated service vessel for New Zealand’s first open ocean salmon farm – has been completed and arrived in NZ in October.
- Design work for a Recirculating Aquaculture System pilot at Tentburn (Southbridge) is underway.
- Westshore Warehouse Project with Port Marlborough, a 3,200 square metre purpose-built warehouse under construction to store our salmon feed at the port.
- Acquisition of a commercial site for $8.14 million at the Cloudy Bay Business Park in Blenheim, to support the company’s future processing requirements from Blue Endeavour.
Despite the supply disruptions, which have impacted both the FY25 (Sept) results and FY26 guidance, the company remains focused on strengthening its core business and remains optimistic about the long-term growth opportunities for NZKS.
“Our direction of travel has not changed. We have our sights firmly on the delivery of our growth plan, through a series of well-timed, sequenced investments that will set our company up for future success,” says New Zealand King Salmon Chief Executive Carl Carrington.
“Being the first in New Zealand to venture out to open ocean salmon farming with Blue Endeavour was always going to present its challenges, but that affirms our decision to proceed with pilot-scale operations first and highlights the importance of partnering with the New Zealand Government to share in this journey with us.”
Much of the progress to date represents important milestones for the ‘Future Farming’ Programme – a five-year partnership with the New Zealand Government to pilot the technologies that will provide the ‘blueprint’ for substantive and sustainable salmon farming growth in NZ, especially within new open ocean environments. The project is co-funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund (replaced by the Primary Sector Growth Fund).
“Challenges are a given in aquaculture, but I am proud of the significant progress the company has made over this period,” says Carl. “It signals a shift from being ‘cautiously optimistic’ to increasingly confident in our plans for the future. We are a compelling primary sector growth story, ready to grow.”
Further Information
Blue Endeavour
Blue Endeavour will be New Zealand’s first open ocean salmon farm. It will also be the world’s first farm of its type for the valuable King salmon (Chinook) fish species.
Open ocean salmon aquaculture is the farming of salmon in enclosed fish pens, anchored in place to the seabed, in exposed marine environments.
The farm will be located seven kilometres off Cape Lambert outside the Marlborough Sounds. It will comprise two blocks of ten circular pens each; the total farm will be less than 12 surface hectares in size. When fully operational, Blue Endeavour will have the capacity to produce ~10,000 metric tonnes of King salmon, with an anticipated annual revenue of $350 million per annum.
The Blue Endeavour pilot pens are in the water in Te Hoiere / Pelorus Sound, and one step closer to the open ocean.
For more information, please contact Chantelle Te Haara, Corporate Communications Specialist, Chantelle.TeHaara@kingsalmon.co.nz.