Saudi Fisheries Company (SFC) has been awarded over SAR 1.6 million (USD 431,000, EUR 370,000) in a case against Oman-based Ocean Fish Company (OFC) concerning the breach of a commercial fish supply contract.
In the contract, OFC, upon payment of advance cash, could purchase SFC-produced fish products, sell them, calculate the profit margin, and then transfer that sum to SFC.
According to SFC, Ocean Fish “failed to fulfill the agreed-upon commitments and did not complete the agreed-upon tasks.” In other words, OFC was found to have illegally withheld sales income from products sold under the agreement.
"Consequently, [SFC] requested a refund of the advance payment, but the company's demands were ignored,” SFC, which was represented in the case by Muscat, Oman-based Asaad Al-Hadhrami Law Firm, said during the court proceedings.
The Primary Court of Muscat found merit in SFC's complaint and ordered OFC to pay the Saudi firm SAR 1.6 million (USD 426,146, EUR 368,387). OFC was also forced to pay SAR 30,000 (USD 7,990, EUR 6,908) in compensation for damages resulting from withholding funds and delaying payment, as well as SAR 3,000 (USD 799, EUR 690) for attorney's fees.
OFC was given 15 days after the judgment to appeal the ruling, with that window having closed 25 May.
SFC said it would wait for that 25 May date “to proceed with the enforcement of the judgment if no appeal is filed.”
OFC has not publicly filed an appeal.
"It should also be noted that the execution is taking place in a foreign jurisdiction, the Sultanate of Oman; therefore, the collection of the awarded amounts is subject to the execution procedures in the Sultanate of Oman," SFC said in a statement. “There is no negative financial impact on the company in the event of non-collection, as the company has already made the appropriate accounting adjustment at the time by calculating a provision for expected credit loss.”
The move comes just as SFC given the greenlight from the Saudi Arabian Capital Markets Authority to raise SAR 340 million (USD 89.9 million, EUR 76.5 million) through a rights issuance as the firm pursues additional measures in turning around its poor financial performance.
