Chilean salmon farmer Invermar reported a USD 1.23 million (EUR 1.95 million) loss in the first quarter of 2018 after its operation was hit by a USD 5.2 million (EUR 4.4 million) cost due to the algae bloom experienced earlier this year in Southern Chile. Sales revenues were also hit by a drop in international sales prices.
According to the Santiago, Chile-based company’s earnings statement, the firm harvested 10,099 whole fish equivalent (WFE) in the first quarter of the year, up 17 percent compared to the same period last year.
The company’s sales revenue for the year totaled USD 64.79 million (EUR 54.9 million), relatively the same as the USD 64.73 million (EUR 54.8 million) registered in the first quarter of 2017. Nearly all sales (96.3 percent) corresponded to salmon, although it did more than double its revenue from scallops to USD 2.39 million (EUR 2.02 million) in the quarter.
In terms of volume, Invermar increased the tonnage of WFE sold compared to the previous year by 18.9 percent. The company sold 6,894 metric tons of products through 2018, compared to 5,797 metric tons in the same period 2017.
The company said that Atlantic salmon represented 86 percent of sales volume, with the rest accounted for by coho salmon.
The company’s sales for Atlantic salmon went mainly to the United States (39 percent share) in frozen or fresh fillet formats. Its coho salmon sold primarily to Japan (58 percent) and 82 percent of its scallops are sold in the European Union.
The algae bloom that affected operations of several salmon farmers in the beginning of 2018 was much smaller than the disastrous one in 2016. Other firms have reported positive results for the first quarter and did not mention any ill financial effects due to this year’s bloom.
