Santiago, Chile-based salmon farming firm Australis Seafoods saw higher harvests and revenues in the third quarter of 2019, but a spike in costs hit its bottom line.
The company announced in an earnings release that Q3 harvest volume had increased 10.7 percent year-on-year to 17,000 metric tons (MT), of which 59.1 percent had come from southern Chile’s Aysén region. Sold volumes for July-September reached USD 103 million (EUR 93.5 million), up 18.4 percent from the same period in 2018.
The breakdown of sales was 83.8 percent Atlantic salmon and 16.2 percent trout, and of the total sales, 31.8 percent went to the U.S., 21.3 percent to Europe, 17.9 percent to the rest of Latin America, and 9.9 percent to Asia (less Japan). Another 8.1 percent was sold in Chile and 7.4 percent to Japan. During the quarter, the prices of Atlantic salmon fell 5.3 percent, while trout prices dropped 10.0 percent when compared to Q3 2018.
At the same time, sales costs surged 29.2 percent to USD 81.8 million (EUR 74.3 million), bringing EBITDA down 11.5 percent to USD 19.2 million (EUR 17.4 million). Net profits fell 18.3 percent to USD 7.8 million (EUR 7.1 million).
Australis Seafoods highlighted its USD 26.5 million (EUR 24.1 million) takeover of Pesquera Torres del Paine Limitada in July, together with the latter’s processing plant located in the city of Punta Arenas.
In August, the company announced it had received a USD 160 million (EUR 145 million) line of credit from the Bank of China’s Macau branch, to consolidate separate lines of credit Australis previously held with the Norwegian DNB Bank, Rabobank, and Banco Santander.
In June, the firm was formally acquired for USD 922 million (EUR 837 million) by the Joyvio Group, a subsidiary of Legend Holding, one of the largest companies in China.
Logo courtesy of Australis Seafoods
