Blue Lagoon expects earnings to rise by half next year

The Blue Lagoon group expects its financial results to increase by about half next year as it expands through acquisitions and investment, mbl.is reports.

Elvar Karlsson, head of corporate banking at Landsbankinn, said the timing of the company’s share offering was appropriate despite current uncertainty in markets. Landsbankinn and investment bank Fossar are managing the offering, which gives the public its first opportunity to buy shares in the company.

The company will issue new shares equivalent to 14.6% of its total value, and all its shares will be listed on the stock exchange. Karlsson said the listing was intended to support long-term growth plans. Landsbankinn representatives have met investors in Iceland, London and New York in recent months and received a positive response, he said. The banks cannot disclose how the offer is progressing while it remains open.

The listing was first prepared in 2020 but postponed because of the pandemic. Preparations resumed in 2023, then volcanic activity on the Reykjanes peninsula led to another delay. Sigríður Margrét Oddsdóttir became the company’s chief executive early this year. Karlsson said the board’s strategic work and the agreement to acquire Arctic Adventures had made this a suitable time to complete the listing.

The group has also bought into companies operating bathing facilities around Iceland. Construction of a visitor centre and hotel in Þjórsárdalur is nearing completion. Karlsson said improved operations, investment and acquisitions were expected to lift the group’s financial results by about half next year, with further growth in later years as synergies take effect and the Þjórsárdalur project joins the group.

Economist Snorri Jakobsson, who prepared an independent valuation at the company’s request, said the group had reduced its business risk by acquiring majority stakes in Fontana, the Sea Baths in Húsavík and the Nature Baths in Mývatn. He described the combination with Arctic Adventures as especially important, citing both further risk diversification and synergies with the bathing businesses. The risks include the possibility that seismic activity could again disrupt operations at the Blue Lagoon.