Hyderabad, India-headquartered Avanti Feeds, one of India’s top shrimp-feed producers, has acquired 100 percent of Srivathsa Power Projects, which operates a 17.2-megawatt natural gas-based power plant in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Avanti Feeds, which already owned 49.9 percent of Srivathsa Power Projects, purchased the remaining 50.1 percent, or 16.7 million shares of the firm on 28 March, at a price of INR 2.30 (USD 0.02, EUR 0.03) per share, or INR 38.4 million (USD 467,000, EUR 430,000), according to a press release.
Avanti Feeds is involved in other power projects in India, including operating a 3.2-megawatt wind project in Chitradurg, Karnataka, India, and a 25.88 percent stake in Patikari Power, which operates a 16-megawatt hydropower project in Himachal Pradesh
Avanti, which is also a major exporter through its subsidiary Avanti Frozen Foods, is 55 percent owned by Thai Union.
Avanti Feeds saw its gross income from the company’s shrimp-processing business drop 17.4 percent year-on-year to INR 2.56 billion (USD 30 million, EUR 29.3 million) in Q3 2023, which covered the period from 1 October through 31 December, 2022. The unit’s sales volume dropped 18 percent year-on-year, which the company attributed to postponements of shipments from foreign buyers, who were facing high inventory levels, Avanti Feeds Joint Managing Director C. Ramachandra Rao said during a quarterly earning call on 22 February.
Avanti Feeds commenced commercial operations at a new feed plant in Andhra Pradesh in December 2022, and earned a victory in October 2022 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed the company's cooked shrimp from its import alert list following a salmonella outbreak linked to its frozen cooked shrimp. The move allowed Avanti Frozen to resume shipments of shrimp to the U.S.
Overall, Avanti Feeds recorded a 16.1 percent quarter-over-quarter drop in income to INR 11.3 billion (USD 137.5 million, EUR 126.7 million), though year-over-year, its income was up 4.1 percent. Its net profit improved 10.3 percent quarter-over-quarter and 55.4 percent year-over-year to INR 624 million (USD 7.6 million, EUR 7 million), according to the company’s Q3 2023 results.
Rao forecasted India’s shrimp production will decrease in fiscal year 2023.
“[We are] cautious with [the] global economy looking bleak and recession looming large throughout the world,” he said.
During the 2023 India International Seafood Show in mid-February, Shrimp Insights Founder Willem van der Pijl said he also expects India’s shrimp export volumes to drop in Q1 2023, following the increases last year.
Photo courtesy of Avanti Feeds
