The Saudi Fisheries Company (SFC) has appointed Awwad Aldasouqi, previously its chief financing officer, as its acting chief executive officer until further notice.
Aldasouqi was named to the new role effective 1 July, 2022, taking over from Walid bin Hamad bin Sulaiman Al-Buthi, – whose resignation from the position was approved by the company's board of directors on 29 June, 2022.
“The chairman and members of the board thanked Walid bin Hamad bin Sulaiman Al-Buthi for all that he provided during his tenure as CEO of the company,” a statement from the board said.
Previously, Al-Dasouqi served in senior positions in agricultural companies including National Poultry, Delmonte Fresh American, Astra Food, and ARASCO, according to SFC.
The move comes after the SFC Board of Directors approved the resignation on 15 June, 2022, of another board member, Abdullah bin Hamad Al Mahal, who held a non-executive membership position representing the Saudi Agricultural Investment and Production Company (SALIC).
SALIC said an alternative board member was to be nominated as its representative by the end of June 2022.
The SFA Board of Directors “expressed their thanks and gratitude for all that Mr. Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Mahthal has provided for his tangible efforts during his tenure of membership in the board.”
The acting CEO has been appointed at a time when the company has announced a 14 percent surge in its total sales for the three months ending 31 March, 2022 and a spike in net loss “mainly due to the increased production costs at the shrimp farm.”
During the quarter, SFC said “longer harvest cycles and variable costs hiked up the overall production cost, although the selling and distribution and general administration expenses remained almost the same for the same comparatively.”
In its Q1 2022 report, the company said it had accumulated losses amounting to SAR 144 million (USD 38.3 million, EUR 37.6 million), equivalent to 36 percent of its capital, in the quarter.
The increase in net loss was attributed to “higher production cost in the current period, besides the change in gains from biological evaluation.”
SFC also reported an increase to its fixed costs and an underutilization of assets at the company’s farms during Q2 2022.
Photo courtesy of the Saudi Fisheries Company
