Puerto Montt, Chile-based salmon farmer Multi X – formerly known as Multiexport Foods – saw its operating incomes and consolidated profit increase in Q3 2021 due to strong sales to the U.S. and Brazil.
Multi X's operating income jumped by 62.4 percent to USD 172 million (EUR 152 million) during the third quarter of 2021, from USD 106 million (EUR 94 million) Q3 2020. The total was also 14.5 percent higher compared to the second quarter of this year, the company reported to Chile’s financial market regulator CMF.
The salmon farmer’s Q3 consolidated profit came in at USD 32 million (EUR 28.4 million), compared to a loss of USD 40.7 million (EUR 36.1 million) in the same quarter of last year. That total was also an increase over the previous quarter, which saw a profit of 29.6 million (EUR 26.2 million).
The increase in sales revenue is mainly explained by a 53.9 percent boost in sales price when compared to the third quarter of 2020, the company said. It also attributes the performance to the recovery of the hotel, retail, and catering sector, coupled with strong retail demand – particularly from its two main markets of the United States and Brazil. Multi X's sales to the U.S. reached USD 99.5 million (EUR 88.2 million), an increase of 83 percent from the USD 54.4 million (EUR 48.2 million) sold in Q3 of 2020, while shipments to Brazil jumped 123 percent to USD 33.2 million (EUR 29.4 million) from USD 14.9 million (EUR 13.2 million) in the same quarter of 2020.
The operating margin amounted to USD 44 million (EUR 39 million), compared to an operating loss of USD 12.2 million (EUR 10.8 million) in the third quarter of 2020.
Multi X's harvest volume reached 21,673 metric tons (MT) whole-fish equivalent (WFE) of Atlantic salmon, down 13.5 percent year-over-year. That decrease was attributed to a 3.5 percent decline in the average weight at 5.22 kilograms WFE in the period. Ex-farm costs for the period were USD 3.66 (EUR 3.24) per kilogram WFE, down 5.9 percent when compared to the previous quarter’s USD 3.89 (EUR 3.45) per kilogram WFE. However, that total was up 6.1 percent when compared with the same period of last year, which saw prices of USD 3.45 (EUR 3.06) per kilogram WFE, which the company said was due to the rise in the price of fish feed and raw materials.
