The Scottish Salmon Company plc (SSC) said its first-half revenue grew 36% to a record £98.3 million, with harvest volumes rising to 15,777 tonnes from 11,617 tonnes in the same period of 2017.

More than 500 people are employed by SSC — 230 of them in the Hebrides.

SSC is based in Edinburgh and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

“The positive performance in the first half of 2018 has been underpinned by a strong market for Scottish Salmon in general, increased weight of harvested stock and positive results from a continuous focus on operational performance,” said SSC.

“EBIT/kg before fair value adjustment for the first six months of 2018 ended at £2.11/Kg, up from £1.65/Kg in the same period in 2017.”

Craig Anderson, chief executive at The Scottish Salmon Company, said: “We are pleased to report positive results for the first half of the year and remain focussed on growing the business in a responsible and sustainable manner through implementing operational efficiencies and driving market development.

“In addition to securing steady volume growth, strengthened biosecurity and infrastructure development, the health and welfare of our stock remain fundamental to operations and we continue to invest in our health management strategy to ensure a best practice approach …

“We have stated ambitions to increase exports worldwide and strengthening our presence in overseas markets continues to be a core focus.

“Our export strategy is built on development of long term partnerships, promotion of our provenance led brands and strong customer relations.

“During the period, our new Lochlander brand, a product tailored for high end food service, was successfully introduced into the USA.”