On 7 August, Tokyo-based Maruha Nichiro Corporation reported financial results for the period from April-June, the first quarter of fiscal 2018. The company’s consolidated ordinary profit was around JPY 8.5 billion yen (USD 77,562,500; EUR 65,734,871), up 30 percent from the same period last year.
The increase in yen terms was mainly due to foreign exchange gains resulting from the weaker yen—about 10 yen lower against the dollar from the year before.
Exports of high-end fish, from an Australia subsidiary to the U.S. and China, were strong. Maruha Nichiro bought a 50 percent stake in Austral fisheries in 2013. Austral owns large quota shares of Patagonian toothfish and mackerel icefish in the Australian exclusive economic zone, and is involved in the shrimp and prawn fishery in Northern Australia and the Indian Ocean.
Imports to Japan were also profitable despite rising purchasing costs, as domestic catches of salmon and squid were poor, keeping prices high.
The company’s Alaska pollock business in North America did well, as the fish were large, with many eggs.
