South Africa-based Sea Harvest Group posted an increase in its revenue and EBIT despite dealing with what it called “the most challenging year since listing in 2017.”
Sea Harvest posted revenue of ZAR 7.2 billion (USD 394 million, EUR 361 million) for FY 2024, an increase of 16 percent compared to the ZAR 6.2 billion (USD 340 million EUR 311 million) it posted for FY 2023. That higher revenue came despite historically low catch rates in its South Africa hake business and its Australian prawn business – both more than 25 percent below the historical 10-year average.
Alongside the increased revenue, the company posted a better EBIT, achieving ZAR 609 million (USD 33.4 million, EUR 30.1 million) in FY 2024 compared to the USD 576 million (USD 51.6 million, EUR 29 million) it achieved in 2023. Gross profit also increased to ZAR 1.9 billion (USD 104 million, EUR 95 million), up from ZAR 1.5 billion (USD 82 million, EUR 75 million).
Sea Harvest Group CEO Felix Ratheb said the strong performance “speaks volumes about the strength of our strategy and operations” amid the poor catch rates – and poor prices. According to Ratheb, prawn prices are 23 percent below where they were in 2022 as “the world works through an oversupply of prawn.” Its abalone operations were also dealing with low prices – down 25 percent from pre-pandemic levels, which he attributed to economic conditions in Hong Kong and China.
“As a business, we have focused on trying to address the current low catch rates, where we added four additional hake trawlers to our fleet during 2024 and early into 2025,” Ratheb said.
During 2024, the company also had to deal with the sinking of one of its fishing trawlers, which resulted in the death of 11 crew members.
“The board, management, and staff extend their deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the 11 crewmen lost at sea and the nine crew who were rescued in the tragic sinking of the MFV Lepanto on 17 May 2024,” Sea Harvest said at the top of its results report.
Despite the challenges, Sea Harvest made progress in other avenues.
The company acquired abalone-farming and -trading firm Aqunion and Terrasan’s subsidiaries involved in catching, processing, and selling pelagic fish.
“The transaction diversifies Sea Harvest into pelagic (anchovy and pilchard) fishing and rounds out the group’s exposure to all material wild-caught fisheries in South Africa, while the abalone business doubles in size, thereby creating an abalone business of scale,” Sea Harvest said in its report. “Importantly, the acquisition has increased the group’s hard currency earnings, created a stronger merged business, increased black ownership in the fishing and abalone industries, and broadened Sea Harvest’s shareholder base.”
The company said its newly acquired pelagic business ...
