Aarhus, Denmark-headquartered aquaculture feed supplier BioMar Group recorded its best first quarter to date, with all of its companies and joint ventures contributing to a Q1 2024 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of DKK 310 million (USD 44.4 million, EUR 41.6 million).
The company attributed the record start to higher margins brought about by a better product mix and efforts to enhance its “commercial excellence," it said in a press release.
However, BioMar’s Q1 2024 sales volume was 8 percent lower than in Q1 2023 at 262,000 metric tons (MT) of feed across its consolidated companies, compared to 286,000 MT a year previously. Strong growth in its shrimp feed segment partly offset lower sales volumes of salmon feed, it said.
BioMar attributed the lower volumes to biological issues in different markets, as well as the company’s increased focus on long-term customer collaborations, as it shifts away its heavy focus on market share toward more value creation.
BioMar said lower raw material prices and exchange rates led to a lower Q1 2024 revenue total of DKK 3.57 billion (USD 510.8 million, EUR 478.7 million), compared with DKK 4.14 billion (USD 592.3 million, EUR 555 million) in Q1 2023.
BioMar Group CEO Carlos Diaz said after a strong 2023, the company had managed to keep momentum and deliver a “very strong Q1,” with all divisions contributing to above-expected results. He also pointed to BioMar’s increased focus on sustainability and its commercial excellence projects as reasons why the company has maintained its momentum.
“With our Blue Impact product portfolio and the customer collaborations around science-driven reductions in … emissions, we have positioned ourselves as a strong partner, driving value for both our customer and their customers,” Diaz said.
BioMar confirmed it has lowered its full-year 2024 revenue forecast for its consolidated companies to somewhere between DKK 17 billion and DKK 18 billion (USD 2.4 billion to USD 2.6 billion, EUR 2.3 billion to EUR 2.4 billion) from the previous DKK 17.5 billion to DKK 18.5 billion (USD 2.5 billion to USD 2.6 billion, EUR 2.3 billion to EUR 2.5 billion).
Conversely, it has raised its EBITDA forecast for its consolidated companies to a range between DKK 1.27 billion and DKK 1.35 billion (USD 181.7 million to USD 193.2 million, EUR 170.3 million to EUR 181 million) from its original forecast of DKK 1.21 billion to DKK 1.29 billion (USD 173.1 million to USD 184.6 million, EUR 162.2 to EUR 173 million).
Its associated companies and joint ventures are expected to contribute to the company’s full-year results with around a DKK 60 million (USD 8.6 million, EUR 8 million) share of profit after tax.
BioMar operates 17 feed factories in Norway, Chile, Denmark, Scotland, Spain, France, Greece, Turkey, China, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Australia.
