Iceland Seafood International’s (ISI) results for 2019 indicate the company had a strong year, posting an increase in sales and profit before taxes.
The company had sales of EUR 448.2 million (USD 498.5 million), up EUR 102.2 million (USD 113.6 million) from 2018’s sales of EUR 346 million (USD 384 million), a jump of over 29 percent. That performance was also 5 percent ahead of the company’s prediction for the year; The 2018 pro forma was EUR 431.3 million (USD 479.3 million).
“We are pleased with the financial results for 2019 and consider them satisfactory as they were according to our budget and within the range that was communicated to the market in March 2019,” ISI CEO Bjarni Ármannsson said in a release. “Strategically we have also advanced significantly, and we have reached the targets we set us for the year as well.”
The company’s normalized profit before tax was EUR 11.3 million (USD 12.5 million), compared to EUR 7.2 million (USD 8.0 million) in 2018. It, too, was ahead of projections – the company predicted a profit before tax of EUR 10.8 million (USD 12.0 million).
The company contributed that increase in sales to significant sales growth in its sales and distribution division. The company had predicted sales of EUR 183.2 million (USD 203.5 million) in that division – the same as in 2018 – but it increased by EUR 16.9 million (USD 18.7 million) year-over-year to EUR 194 million (USD 215.5 million). The company attributed the stronger sales in the division to higher sales in Iceland, buoyed by stronger cooperation with key producers in the country and a significant increase in sales of sea-frozen products.
The company’s Southern Europe value-added division also saw growth over 2018, with sales of EUR 179.4 million (USD 199.3 million) compared to the previous year’s EUR 100.1 million (USD 111.2 million). That was only slightly off the company’s predicted sales for the year. According to the company, demand was strong for light salted products the whole year, but low supplies in the summer impacted sales. A challenging environment in Argentina, as well, drove an 18 percent decrease in sales of Argentine shrimp.
The division that saw the biggest challenges in 2019 was the Northern Europe value added division, which saw decreases in sales. Sales in 2019 were EUR 96.6 million (USD 107.3 million), down from EUR 97.4 million (USD 108.2 million) in 2018. The company attributed the 7 percent decrease in sales to uncertainty during the year – partially attributable to Brexit.
The company has a strong outlook for 2020, with a predicted increase in profit before tax of 28 to 46 percent. The company predicts that the majority of synergies in Spain, where the company merged multiple subsidiaries throughout 2019, will be realized in 2020. Results from Elba, another Spain-based company that Iceland Seafood International recently acquired, have not been factored in to the 2020 predictions.
However, the company pointed out that the results will be influenced by potential fishing and quota changes, not to mention the many issues causing global uncertainty such as Brexit, potential U.S. tariffs, COVID-19/coronavirus, and potential political uncertainty in Argentina.
