Due to an over 50 percent jump in cost of sales year over year, Puerto Montt, Chile-based salmon producer Multi X posted net losses of USD 6.3 million (EUR 5.8 million) for FY2023 after posting a net profit of USD 65.4 million (EUR 60.7 million) in 2022.
For the year, total company revenues reached USD 877.6 million (EUR 814.6 million), marking a 36.5 percent boost in top-line revenues over the USD 643 million (EUR 597 million) it reached 2022. However, cost of sales jumped 54.4 percent to USD 794.9 million (EUR 737.9 million) in 2023, compared to USD 518.2 million (EUR 481 million) in the previous year.
Operational earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) dropped to USD 46.6 million (EUR 43.2 million), which was less than half of the USD 94.2 million (EUR 87.4 million) posted in 2022.
The U.S. was Multi X’s strongest market, with the company sending USD 526.3 million (EUR 485.5 million) in exports to the country in 2023, representing 60 percent of the company’s total exports. That was followed by Brazil, where Multi X sent USD 94.2 million (EUR 87.4 million) of its salmon, representing 11 percent of the total. Next came the domestic market in Chile, which bought USD 79.3 million (EUR 73.6 million) of salmon, and comprised 9 percent of the market.
Rounding out the top export markets for Multi X in 2023 were China, buying USD 36.1 million (EUR 33.5 million) of salmon; Asia excluding China, which purchased USD 34.8 million (EUR 32.3 million); and Europe, buying USD 18 million (EUR 16.7 million).
In 2022, Multi X sent USD 363.2 million (EUR 337.1 million) to the U.S., representing 56 percent of total sales, and USD 91.4 million (EUR 84.8 million) to Brazil, which took up 14 percent of the total.
The company attributed the increase in sales to its principal markets to an increase in volume, tempered by lower sales prices.
The year also ended with productive harvests. In the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, Multi X said its harvest volume of Atlantic salmon reached 31,188 metric tons (MT) whole fish equivalent (WFE), marking a 10.7 percent increase when compared to Q4 of 2022, but down 0.9 percent from Q3 2023, when it previously said it had achieved a “historical” harvest, resulting in a successful quarter despite high operational costs and lower year-over-year sales prices.
During Q4 2023, Multi X’s operating income reached USD 207.3 million (EUR 192.4 million), which was 13.5 percent higher than the same quarter of the previous year, and the cost of sales increased by 35.8 percent from USD 152.2 million (EUR 141.2 million) to USD 206.7 million (EUR 191.8 million), mainly due to higher operational costs in farming.
As a result, the company’s Q4 operating margin dropped 98.3 percent year over year to USD 500,000 (EUR 460,000), and its EBIT was a loss of USD 9 million (EUR 8.3 million), compared to gains of USD 20.9 million (EUR 19.4 million) in the same quarter of 2022. Consolidated losses for the period, before fair value adjustment, reached USD 11.3 million (EUR 10.5 million), compared to profits of USD 10 million (EUR 9.3 million) for the fourth quarter of 2022.
Operationally, Multi X highlighted the 11 February 2024 fire that affected its Entrevientos salmon-processing plant, which it jointly owns with fellow salmon farmer Blumar, located in Punta Arenas in Chile’s Magallanes Region. The fire is still under investigation, and the level of damage to the facilities is still being evaluated. Entrevientos has activated its associated insurance policy, while Multi X has outsourced process capacity with third parties to continue its normal processing plan, it said.
The company, formerly known as Multiexport, is the top producer of smoked salmon in Chile, the second-largest producer of Atlantic salmon in Chile, the country’s third-largest salmon producer overall, and is within the top six largest producers of Atlantic salmon worldwide.
Multi X has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, commit to sending zero waste to landfills across its operations by 2025, and reduce its antibiotic use by a further 60 percent by 2025. Currently, all of its farms are operating under Best Aquaculture Standards (BAP) standards, and one-third of its facilities are under Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) standards. More than 25 percent of its production involves no antibiotics.
