Farmed salmon fillet. (Photo: Camanchaca)

Salmones Camanchaca increases profit by 143pct in first quarter

CHILE
Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 02:20 (GMT + 9)

Salmones Camanchaca obtained a profit of USD 15.7 million in the first quarter of this year, which represents an increase of 143 per cent compared to the USD 6.5 million reported for the same period of 2017.

The consolidated EBITDA was USD 18.5 million, which is in line with what was recorded in the same period last year (-1.4 per cent). Excluding the profits related to the trout business, the EBITDA of the Atlantic salmon business was USD 16 million, 16 per cent higher than USD 13.8 million in the first quarter of 2017.

Revenues in the first quarter of 2018 were USD 80.6 million, 56 per cent higher than in the same period last year.

The strong growth was driven by the increase in sales volume, which increased 97 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2017, in line with a rise in the volume of harvest of 99 per cent in the same period, to 9,589 tonnes of WFE. The company highlighted that in the first three months of 2017, harvests were lower after the decision taken in 2015 not to stock two farming centres.

"We see important growth in our farmed products and sales that better reflect the capabilities of Salmones Camanchaca, a cost that continues in our goal of being under USD 3 per kilo of live fish, maintaining the volumes projected for this year, in a range of 45,000 to 48,000 tonnes of WFE, "said Ricardo García Holtz, vice president of Salmones Camanchaca.

"The prices, on the other hand, were lower than those of the first quarter of last year, when we had historical levels. All in all, the evolution of the price has been very favourable from March onwards, approaching even those we saw at the beginning of the previous year," he added.

The volumes were partially offset by lower salmon prices. The average price for Atlantic salmon was USD 6.3 per kg WFE in the first quarter of 2018, 13 per cent below the record price of the first three months of 2017, which reflects a normalization of the conditions of the Chilean offer during the season.

"If the current price and cost ranges are maintained, we are confident that the company's results will continue to improve," Garcia Holtz concluded.

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