High Liner Foods earnings slip in Q3 2025 as market headwinds, tariffs take toll

High Liner Foods saw its earnings and volumes slip in Q3 2025, with the company citing macroeconomic headwinds including tariffs as drivers of the declines.

Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, Canada-based High Liner posted a 1 million pounds decrease in sales volume in Q3 2025, dropping to 55.8 million pounds from 56.8 million pounds in the same quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA dropped USD 6.3 million (EUR 5.5 million), or 29.3 percent, to USD 15.2 million (EUR 13.1 million) in the quarter, swinging negative from gains it posted in Q2 2025.

“I will start by addressing head-on that our financial results for Q3 came in below expectations for what we know our business can deliver, and frankly what we were expecting to deliver we would deliver for the third quarter,” High Liner President and CEO Paul Jewer said during a conference call reviewing the results on 6 November.

Jewer said that the company made some progress on some of its initiatives, but macroeconomic headwinds overshadowed that progress – headwinds Jewer largely predicted in Q2 2025.

“When I spoke to you in August, I highlighted the pressures form rising raw material costs and tariffs, as well as challenges associated with shifting and uncertain trade policies. Those pressures persisted in the third quarter,” he said.

High Liner’s sales increased during Q3 2025 to USD 248 million (EUR 215 million), up from USD 228 million (EUR 198 million) in Q3 2024. However its net income dropped 47 percent to USD 25.7 million (EUR 22.3 million), down from USD 54.2 million (EUR 47 million). Gross profit also fell, decreasing USD 3.2 million (EUR 2.8 million), or 1.9 percent, to USD 166.3 million (EUR 144 million).

“Tariffs were a factor this quarter, but they weren’t the whole story. Several macro headwinds converged at once – the accelerating inflationary environment, plus rising seafood prices particularly on cod and haddock, as well as consumer price sensitivity and a prolonged slowdown in foodservice,” Jewer said. “I don’t want to understate the impact of these macro headwinds, combined they put significant pressure on margins as reflected in our results – however, nor do I want to overstate these challenges because they are all temporary market dynamics.”

Jewer said the company is taking targeted actions to relieve some of the pressure it is facing from its headwinds, including pricing adjustments and efficiency initiatives. However Chief Commercial Office Anthony Rasetta said during the call that the nature of the retail market meant any pricing adjustments to compensate for increases in material costs typically have a delay, which meant the company’s retail business was negatively impacted in Q3 2025 as it worked to correct pricing to the state of the market.

“In retail, it tends to be 90 days that customers are looking for in terms of an increase, so the volatility in costs and tariffs can become a bit more challenging,” Rasetta said.

Jewer said some of the costs have since been passed through, but that it will take time for those adjustments to show positively in the company’s quarterly results.

As the company faces macro headwinds, Jewer and Rasetta said it has seen positive movement in some of its initiatives. The company’s purchase of the Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamp’s brands from Conagra in June is progressing smoothly, Jewer said.

“We are ahead of schedule on our integration plans, having built out our sales team, met with key new and existing customers, advanced plans for investments in both brands, and continue to identify cross-selling opportunities,” Jewer said.

He also said its renewed focus on market innovation has been paying off, as the company is nearing

“This includes our upcoming fully-cooked product line, that will open us up to a largely untapped market for frozen seafood in North America, and remove one of the most cited barriers to seafood consumption – convenience,” Jewer said.

Despite the headwinds and the lower performance, Jewer said the company is expecting it to perform better in Q4 2025 thanks to the initiatives it is taking on pricing and efficiency. However, he couldn’t predict whether the improvement would be enough for the company to reach volume growth for the year.