South Africa fish canner’s profits soar on demand

Oceana Group Ltd. (OCE), the biggest seller of canned fish in South Africa, had a 33 percent jump in full- year earnings as demand outpaced supply and its fishmeal unit returned to profit, raising the company’s shares to a record.

Net income advanced to ZAR 443.8 million (USD 51 million) in the year ended 30 September from ZAR 333.2 million a year earlier, the Cape Town-based company said today in a statement. Revenue jumped 27 percent to ZAR 4.6 billion. Oceana’s earnings per share of 4.08 rand beat the average forecast of ZAR 3.49 rand among three analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

“We had exceptionally strong demand for canned fish,” Chief Executive Officer Francois Kuttel said by phone. “We’ve increased supply but couldn’t keep up with demand.”

Fishmeal, relying on industrial catches such as anchovies, turned a 21 million rand profit from a 55 million rand loss as selling prices held steady even with supply gains, he said. “We had the best industrial fish catch in a decade,” Kuttel said from Cape Town. “There were strong landings of anchovies.”

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