Clearwater Seafoods Ltd. Partnership on Tuesday reported its third-quarter results, including net earnings of CAD 418,000 (USD 397,000, EUR 266,000), compared to a CAD 10.2 million (USD 9.7 million, EUR 6.5 million) net loss during the same period last year.
The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) also improved to CAD 10.6 million (USD 10 million, EUR 6.7 million), compared to CAD 7.9 million (USD 7.5 million, EUR 5 million) in the third quarter of 2008.
Clearwater said the improvements are a result of higher gross profits and greater productivity in its clam and scallop businesses, which were partially offset by a sales mix of relatively lower margins for shrimp and lobster.
During the 13 weeks ending 27 September, the company continued to generate cash by disposing of non-core quotas from which it was not earning an adequate return on its capital. In the third quarter, Clearwater sold CAD 7.2 million (USD 6.8 million, EUR 4.6 million) of non-core groundfish quotas and recorded a gain on sale of CAD 2 million (USD 1.9 million, EUR 1.3 million).
Looking ahead to the remainder of 2009, the company said it believes with improvements to its clam, shrimp and lobster fleets and the possibility of continued lower fuel costs it will be able to continue to grow its cash flows and profit margins.
“We are pleased to report continued strong results in 2009 despite the challenging worldwide economic conditions,” said Colin MacDonald, Clearwater’s chairman and CEO. “Our solid results speak to the success of all our business units and in particular our outstanding and dedicated workforce which continues to seek and find ways to drive innovation in our harvesting, our processing and in building strong relationships with our customers.”
