Cape Town, South Africa-based Premier Fishing and Brands posted a achieved a 27 percent increase in revenue to ZAR 575 million (USD 35.9 million, EUR 31.8 million) for year ending 31 August, 2021.
The company said its gains came as a result of a flourishing squid, lobster, hake, and pelagic sectors and strong demand from both the domestic and international markets.
Premier said it achieved a 26 percent increase in its gross profit to ZAR 192 million (USD 12 million, EUR 10.6 million) in the year, with a pre-tax profit increase of 1 percent to ZAR 18 million (USD 1.1 million, EUR 998,000).
Premier, which holds medium- and long-term fishing rights in South Africa's squid, lobster, pelagic, and hake deep-sea trawling fisheries, said in its year-end financial report it recorded a “a very strong fishing season, where catches improved in every sector.”
“With catch rates being so strong, the group was able to capitalize on its very strong customer relationships in the export market,” the company added.
One exception to Premier Group’s success has been its abalone sector, which it said continues to struggle “due to the adverse effects of COVID-19 on the Asian markets." As a result, Premier put on hold segments of an ongoing expansion at its abalone farm, with a target holding capacity between 300 to 350 metric tons (MT).
The company said it will not issue a dividend for the period under review after it incurred what it says was “some once off abnormal legal, consulting, and administration costs in preparation for the fishing rights application process, tough trading circumstances such as bad debts and impairments, which placed the group’s operating margin, earnings per share, and headline earnings per share under pressure.”
Furthermore, the company said COVID-19's impacts are still being felt in most of its markets and “there is no certainty as to when the pandemic will be brought under control and how long it will take for our markets to return to normal levels.”
Photo courtesy of Premier Fishing and Brands
