New Zealand King Salmon Investments posted a strong performance in FY 2020 despite a drop in sales volumes as a result COVID-19 crisis.
The company yielded profits of NZ 18 million (USD 12 million, EUR 10 million), an increase of 59 percent compared to last year, due to strong pricing of livestock amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The company’s financial results for the 12 months ending 30 June, 2020, also registered earnings before interest, taxes, debt, and amortization (EBITDA) of NZD 25.1 million (USD 16.9 million, EUR 14.2 million).
NZ King Salmon Chairman John Ryder said the company could not have done the strong performance without extraordinarily hard work of the team and its employees.
“This has been one of the most challenging periods I have experienced in my business career,” Ryder said. “I want to take this opportunity to thank the team members who have seen us through this difficult COVID-19 period. They have all adapted to the challenges that have been thrown at them. In light of these pressures, we are proud to have achieved this result.”
The loyalty and support of the company’s customer base has also been a big part in its positive results, Ryder said.
“Our strong performance was a sound base as we entered lockdown in March. Much of our resilience during this period has been due to the support of our customers, partners, suppliers, and shareholders – we are stronger together because of these relationships,” Ryder said.
NZ King Salmon Managing Director and CEO Grant Rosewarne said the company showed resilience during New Zealand’s Level 4 lockdown, as revenues plummeted by 50 percent.
But with the aid of the government’s wage subsidy, he said the company was able to preserve the jobs of all 550 employees.
“At the introduction of lockdown, our priority was the safety of our team members and to keep our production going. With the support of the Ministry for Primary Industries, we registered as an essential service, which enabled us to keep harvesting and selling our king salmon,” he said.
Rosewarne said trading is now around 20 percent below pre-COVID levels but they remain optimistic as they see encouraging signs, particularly in the US.
“I’d like to thank the government for their leadership in re-establishing market access for exporters like us to continue supplying our premium food and beverage to markets around the world,” Rosewarne said. “With around half of our volume sent to international markets, consistent access to cargo routes is critical to business sustainability.”
Rosewarne added that the outlook is bright with the government’s qquaculture strategy aiming for industry growth from NZD 625 million (USD 421 million, EUR 355 million) to NZD 3 billion (USD 2 billion, EUR 1.7 billion) in 2035. He also added that the company is pinning hopes on the approval of its Blue Endeavour application to farm in the Cook Strait, located seven kilometers north of Cape Lambert. The result of the application is expected to be confirmed by mid-2021, and a positive outcome will result in the first harvest expected in Q4 of 2023.
“If granted, there will be a significant economic impact to the region eventually delivering 300 jobs,” Rosewarne said.
The company also announced that due to the departure of its chief operating officer, a decision has been made to split the role into two positions separately overseeing the company's aquaculture and processing operations.
Photo courtesy of New Zealand King Salmon
