Photo: Nueva Pescanova Group

The operational measures implemented by the new management team boost the results of the Nueva Pescanova Group

SPAIN
Thursday, September 19, 2024, 05:10 (GMT + 9)

With an EBITDA of 18.1 million euros between April and August 2024, almost double that obtained in the entire previous year.

• In its statement, the Nueva Pescanova Group has reported that the Board of Directors will propose a capital increase of 72.6 million euros at the next General Shareholders' Meeting, in order to finance its future growth plan. 

• The company closed the 2023/24 financial year with losses of 131 million euros, attributable to external factors such as inflation, the historic fall in the price of shrimp and the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Vigo – Thanks to the strategic and operational decisions of Nueva Pescanova's renewed management team, the company has reversed the negative trend of the last two years and is on a path to recovery. In the first five months of the 2024 fiscal year (from April to August), the company has recorded a 2% increase in its turnover compared to the same period of the previous year. Operational efficiency measures have increased margins, generating an EBITDA of 18.1 million euros, which represents a growth of 185% compared to the total EBITDA of 9.8 million in the previous year.

This positive performance suggests a consolidation of the recovery, with expectations of reaching an EBITDA of 37.5 million euros in the first nine months of the year, almost quadrupling the total for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Jorge Escudero joined the multinational in September 2023 to lead and boost the company's growth and increase its profitability. He has extensive management experience, especially in the international arena, in companies such as Coca-Cola, Campofrío, Leche Pascual and Deoleo.-->

With the incorporation of a new CEO in September of last year, a renewal stage began in which the Executive Committee was simplified and reorganized to streamline decision-making. The measures implemented include a new business plan, commercial reorganisation, process optimisation to improve service and operational efficiency, as well as optimisation of working capital.

Capital increase

The Board of Directors of Nueva Pescanova will propose a capital increase of 72.6 million euros at the next General Shareholders' Meeting, intended to finance its growth plan. ABANCA, the Group's main shareholder, has already confirmed its participation in the increase, guaranteeing the subscription of at least 71 million euros. The increase will be carried out through cash contributions in the fourth quarter of the year.

Prior to this increase, a reduction in the nominal value of the shares will be proposed, for a total of 223 million euros, with the aim of offsetting losses from previous years and cleaning up the financial balance sheet. This procedure will not affect the company's liquidity.

With the capital increase, local financing and the optimization of working capital, the Group has managed to restore its liquidity and solvency, securing the necessary funds to fulfill its 2024-2028 business plan.

Accounts for the 2023/24 financial year

The General Shareholders' Meeting, scheduled for September 26, will evaluate the approval of the Consolidated Annual Accounts for 2023-2024, which report sales of 970 million euros and losses of 131 million, of which 42 million correspond to an impairment provision intended to clean up the balance sheet. This adjustment has no impact on the company's cash flow.

These results close a two-year cycle greatly affected by extraordinary factors, such as inflation, the exchange rate and the El Niño weather phenomenon. In response to these challenges, the company has implemented various measures in recent months to strengthen its operations and prepare for possible adverse economic cycles in the future.

Change in the fiscal year

At the next General Meeting, the change of the fiscal year will also be put to a vote, aligning it with the natural calendar. Until now, Nueva Pescanova's fiscal year began in April. To adjust to the new calendar, the 2024 fiscal year will be reduced to nine months, ending on December 31, 2024.

editorial@seafood.media
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