Another warmer than usual summer has increased the mortality of King Salmon's fish.
New Zealand King Salmon farm Photo: Supplied / New Zealand King Salmon
As a consequence, the Marlborough-based fish company expected underlying profit for the year ending in June to be at the lower end of a previous guidance of between $25 and $28.5 million.
Last year's underlying profit was $26.2m and a net profit of $16.1m.
In a statement, the company said warm water temperatures had continued into April, with the full year fish harvest to be in the order 7,900 tonnes, down 9 percent from the previous 8,700-tonne estimate.
"Although fish performance has not met our expectations during 2019, the company continues to meaningfully grow value within the available supply of salmon," chair John Ryder said.
Managing director and chief executive Grant Rosewarne said the company was working with the government to mitigate the the effects of climate change, such as a proposal to shift existing salmon space to cooler deeper waters and enabling open ocean farming.
"We believe local councils, such as the Marlborough District Council, would respond positively to such leadership," he said.