Premium Brands Holdings Corporation once again posted a record EBITDA in Q1 2025, while its subsidiary Clearwater Seafoods continues to struggle.
The company posted a Q1 2025 adjusted EBITDA of CAD 136.5 million (USD 98 million, EUR 87 million), an increase of CAD 15.5 million (USD 11.1 million, EUR 9.9 million), or 12.8 percent, compared to Q1 2024. That total came from CAD 1.68 billion (USD 1.2 billion, EUR 1.1 billion) in revenue, which was a 14.9 percent, or CAD 217.4 million (USD 156.1 million, EUR 139 million), increase.
“We are pleased to report another quarter of solid progress in leveraging recent capital allocations to create long-term sustainable value for our shareholders. This was despite significant cost inflation for certain raw materials and a volatile consumer environment created by tariff-related uncertainties,” Premium Brands President and CEO George Paleologou said in a release.
Paleologou said the core drivers of the performance was its protein, sandwich, and bakery sales, which had CAD 100 million (USD 71.8 million, EUR 63.9 million) in organic growth in Q1 2025. Recent acquisitions also increased the company’s revenue, but impacted profitability negatively as the company implements operational initiatives.
“On the acquisitions front, we continue to enjoy a robust deal pipeline and are working on several exciting opportunities that we expect to close in the coming quarters,” Paleologou said. “We are, however, committed to deleveraging our balance sheet over the course of 2025 and any transactions we complete will be done within this context.”
Premium Brands went on a seafood company acquisition streak starting in 2018, rapidly rolling up the North American lobster sector by acquiring Starboard Seafood, Maine Coast, Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co., Viandex, and North Delta Seafood in 2019 and 2020, and Ready Seafood in 2018. The company briefly paused its acquisitions during the Covid-19 pandemic, but resumed its acquisition strategy in August 2020...
