Chilean salmon farmer Blumar posted Q4 net profits of USD 2.4 million (EUR 2.2 million) compared to profits of USD 104,000 (EUR 96,300) in the same quarter of 2018, the company announced in a recent earnings release.
Revenues fell 28 percent year-over-year to USD 89.6 million (EUR 83.0 million) in the fourth quarter of 2019, while the cost of sales was brought down 13 percent to USD 84.6 million (EUR 78.3 million) from USD 97.2 million (EUR 89.9 million) in 2018. Depreciation and amortization increased 27 percent to USD 7.58 million (EUR 7.02 million), bringing EBITDA to a loss of USD 482,000 (EUR 446,600) versus earnings of USD 20.9 million (EUR 19.4 million) in the fourth quarter of 2018.
However, fair value adjustments of biological assets boosted the results to earnings of USD 13.4 million (EUR 12.4 million), versus the USD 8.3 million (EUR 7.7 million) hit in the fourth quarter of 2018.
In its results presentation, Blumar highlighted the construction of a USD 54 million (EUR 50 million) processing plant it is building in conjunction with fellow salmon farmer Multiexport, saying the plant will have permission to operate starting in May 2020. The 8,700-square-meter plant in the southern city of Punta Arenas will have the capacity to handle 50,000 metric tons (MT) of salmon and is expected to create about 300 jobs.
In terms of salmon farming, Blumar said it had sold 38 percent less volume of Atlantic salmon during the fourth quarter of 2019, when compared to the same period in 2018, reaching 7,362 MT whole fish equivalent (WFE). In dollar terms, sales were down 43 percent to USD 40 million (EUR 37.1 million) due to an 8 percent drop in average sales price of USD 5.44 (EUR 5.04) per kilogram WFE.
The volume of Coho salmon increased 10 percent during the period to 3.51 MT WFE, with sales improving 17 percent to USD 15.7 million (EUR 14.5 million) and the average price increasing 7 percent to USD 4.49 (EUR 4.17) per kilogram WFE. Blumar credited this improvement to its purchase of Chilean Coho producer Salmones Ice Val for USD 51 million (EUR 47.3 million) in January 2019.
For the full year, 52 percent of its salmon production was shipped to the United States, 15 percent was exported to Japan, 8 percent to Mexico, 5 percent to Russia, 4 percent went to Brazil, and only 2 percent was sent to China, while 5 percent was consumed locally in Chile.
Blumar posted revenues of USD 391 million (EUR 362 million) for the full year 2019, versus USD 503 million (EUR 467 million) in 2018. Sales were comprised of Atlantic salmon at 46 percent (versus 60 percent in 2018), fishmeal and fish oil at 20 percent (15 percent in 2018), frozen mackerel at 14 percent (10 percent in 2018), whitefish – hake and cuttlefish – at 12 percent (flat from 2018), and Coho salmon at 8 percent (versus 3 percent in 2018).
The company recently announced it had achieved Aquaculture Stewardship Council certification for its three sites in the Magallanes region, meaning it will be able to supply 17,000 MT of ASC-certified salmon to its customers in 2020.
Blumar’s goal is to have 100 percent of its salmon production in the Magallanes region meet the ASC standard during the second half of this year, including two additional farms under assessment. It currently has another five farms in Los Lagos and Aysen that are either certified or under assessment.
Photo courtesy of Blumar
