Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based Premium Brands Holdings Corporation has announced the acquisition of Mermax, a Quebec, Canada-based distributor and wholesaler of fish and meat.
The company made the announcement in its second-quarter financial report, which highlighted “solid results for the quarter,” Premium Brands President and CEO George Paleologou said in a press release.
Mermax has two processing plants in Viandomax and Deliwok, and the company distributes shrimp, crab, frozen and fresh fish, lobster, scallops, and more.
Premium Brands has already acquired a number of seafood companies in North America, following the resumption of its acquisition strategy which was put on hold briefly in 2020 due to COVID-19. The company purchased Clearwater Seafoods in a transaction valued at roughly CAD 1 billion (USD 800 million, EUR 676 million) in November 2020, and in March 2021 acquired Starboard Seafood for an undisclosed amount.
The purchases were coupled with strong revenue gains; Premium Brands had Q2 revenue of CAD 1.2 billion (USD 959 million, EUR 811 million), an increase of 26.4 percent, or CAD 258.1 million (USD 206 million, EUR 174 million) over the same period in 2020. The company had an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, debt, and amortization (EBITDA) of CAD 112.2 million (USD 97.7 million, EUR 82.6 million) a 67.2 percent – or CAD 45.1 million (USD 36 million, EUR 30.4 million) increase compared to 2020.
Clearwater Seafoods generated “significantly improved results” and posted quarterly sales of CAD 138.9 million (USD 111 million, EUR 93.8 million) and an EBITDA of CAD 28 million (USD 22.3 million, EUR 18.9 million) in Q2 2021, the company said.
In addition to Mermax, Premium Brands also announced it entered into an agreement to acquire Maid-Rite Specialty Foods in Pennsylvania, which does not sell any seafood.
Paleologou said the positive quarter came despite challenging business conditions.
“During the quarter, we faced unprecedented inflation across a broad range of commodities, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and sudden shifts in customer and consumer demand patterns. Our businesses were, however, able to respond decisively and creatively, addressing these issues head-on while capitalizing on new opportunities,” he said.
The seafood businesses, he said, “made significant progress.”
“Clearwater Seafood, in particular, had a very strong quarter with substantial year-over-year increases in its sales and EBITDA despite parts of its business still being impacted by pandemic-related factors,” Paleologou said. “We are in the early stages of executing on our seafood strategies but are already seeing solid results as we position ourselves in the global seafood marketplace with best-in-class management teams and operating assets, and implement our branded and value-added product strategies.”
Paleologou said the company “remains very confident” that it can achieve it’s five-year targets of CAD 6 billion (USD 4.7 billion, EUR 4 billion) in sales and an EBITDA of CAD 600 million (USD 479 million, EUR 405 million) by 2023.
“The continued strengthening of the trends that have helped to drive our success over the last decade, combined with the capital projects that we have either recently completed or are underway, as well as our full pipeline of acquisition opportunities, well positions us to meet or exceed our targets,” Paleologou said.
Photo courtesy of Premium Brands Holdings Corporation
