Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based Premium Brands Holdings Corporation posted record fourth-quarter revenue, capping off a year that ended with a double-digit percentage increase in the company’s revenue.
The company achieved Q4 2021 revenue of CAD 1.35 billion (USD 1.06 billion, EUR 966 million), a 27.4 percent increase over the same period in 2020. Premium Brands had an overall revenue of CAD 4.93 billion (USD 3.9 billion, EUR 3.5 billion) in 2021, increasing 21.2 percent over 2020.
Premium Brands had an adjusted EBITDA of CAD 113.4 million (USD 104 million, EUR 94 million) in Q4 2021, a 38.4 percent increase compared to Q4 2020. That increase was buoyed by “improved results” at Clearwater Seafoods, which saw sales of CAD 141.7 million (USD 112.2 million EUR 101.5 million) in Q4 2021 compared to CAD 128.6 million (USD 101.9 million, EUR 92 million) in 2020. Premium Brands purchased Clearwater in 2020 in a transaction valued at roughly CAD 1 billion (USD 792 million, EUR 716 million).
Overall in 2021, the company achieved an adjusted EBITDA of CAD 430.7 million (USD 341 million, EUR 308 million), a 37.8 percent increase over 2020.
The positive financial performance marks the eighteenth consecutive year of record financial results, an impressive result amidst a global pandemic, Premium Brands President and CEO George Paleologou said.
“I have no doubt that our continued success is due to the combination of the incredibly talented people that run our businesses and our decentralized, entrepreneurial-focused culture that enables them to respond to challenges with agility and creativity,” he said in a release.
Q4 2021, Paleologou said, was “particularly difficult” due to the ongoing supply chain disruptions and cost inflation faced by industries worldwide. The emergence of the omicron variant of COVID-19, as well, resulted in “significant employee absenteeism” along with government mandates restricting the foodservice industry.
“Our businesses once again responded with a variety of strategies, including proactive inventory management and selling price increases, however, due to the severity of the challenges, our results were negatively impacted,” Paleologou said. “Nevertheless, we were still able to generate another quarter of record performance.”
The company continues to make progress on its overall goal of becoming North America’s leading specialty food company, he said, and that the company’s seafood platform is “quickly becoming a leading player in the global seafood arena.”
Outside its seafood business, the company also acquired four more companies in the fourth quarter: Ontario, Canada-based Beechgrove Country Foods, a manufacturer of dry cured and cooked protein products; Pennsylvania, U.S.A-based Leonetti's Frozen Foods, a sandwich manufacturer; British Columbia, Canada-based Rocky Mountain Flatbread, an artisan pizza business; and California, U.S.A.-based Shaw Bakers, which the company increased its stake in from 50 percent to 73.72 percent. The acquisitions will the help th company reach its overall goals, Paleologou said.
"Based on the momentum generated and investments made in 2021, we are confident that we will exceed our objective of CAD 6 billion [USD 4.7 billion, EUR 4.3 billion] in sales and CAD 600 million [USD 475 million, EUR 430 million] in adjusted EBITDA by 2023 and look forward to presenting our next five-year plan later this year," Paleologou said.
Photo courtesy of Premium Brands Holding Corporation
