Australian yellowtail kingfish farmer Clean Seas Seafood has reported a strong sales rebound, according to the company’s latest financial report.
The company said that ongoing channel and market diversification and easing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions helped it deliver an over 100 percent increase in total sales volumes. Its sales volume was 861 metric tons (MT) in Q4 2021, compared to 412 MT in Q4 2020, and 716 MT in Q4 2019.
The company's fourth-quarter sales volume increased due to European sales picking up, it said. The European market grew to 322 MT in Q4 2021 versus 140 MT Q3 2021. Those totals were up 241 percent and 9 percent, respectively, versus Q4 2020 and Q4 2019.
Clean Seas CEO Rob Gratton described the fourth quarter as “transformative” for Clean Seas.
“We conducted an important capital raise that has strengthened and will simplify the company’s balance sheet and critically allows the company to grow and unlock the significant value that exists within its portfolio of marine leases. At the same time, Clean Seas undertook a secondary listing of its shares on the Euronext Growth Exchange in Oslo – a globally recognized leading exchange for high-growth seafood companies,” Gratton said in an earnings report. “Clean Seas has an outstanding product and the company can now accelerate towards its goal of significantly growing its established position as a leading full-lifecycle supplier of premium yellowtail kingfish.”
In the report, Clean Seas also attributed the rebound to the company’s development of attractive value-added products, including new chilled and frozen options. The diversification supported the increased demand from retail consumers and as lockdowns have eased, “sales have grown incrementally to above pre-pandemic levels in Australia, Europe, and North America," the company said.
While Australia is once again in lockdown due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, Clean Seas said the diversification has enabled it to withstand the ongoing fiscal challenges brought on by the disease's continued global impact.
Clean Seas' sales volume in the full fiscal year 2021 was at 3,166 MT, up 31 percent compared to FY2020 and 17 percent on FY2019, while unaudited revenue of AUD 48.5 million (USD 35.8 million, EUR 30.2 million) exceeded FY2020 and FY2019 by 20 percent and 5 percent, respectively, the report said.
The company highlighted that during Q4 FY2021, Clean Seas progressed plans to reactivate farming in Fitzgerald Bay, near Whyalla, and intends to stock its 2022 year-class fish in this location.
The Fitzgerald Bay farm will allow Clean Seas to add an additional full life-cycle farming location to its product portfolio and activate leases that could triple its production.
Photo courtesy of Clean Seas Seafood
