New Zealand’s largest commercial fishing and aquaculture company, Sanford Ltd, has recorded an 18.1% rise in its EBITDA in its interim report, but an 18.3% reduction in profits for the six months ending 31 March 2015.
The firm said that profitability was affected by one-off impairment charges with respect to Sanford’s fleet and plant and equipment at the Christchurch mussel processing plant. This left net profit after tax for the six months down from NZ$11.7m in 2014 to NZ$9.6m for the current half year.
Sanford CEO Volker Kuntzsch said that the result is satisfactory, given the challenging conditions faced in international markets.
“In particular, in the last three months of the period, we have seen improving results. The team has worked really hard to lift our revenue. Initially, the period was marked by lacklustre sales for a few months, primarily due to weak currencies and political upheaval in some of our important export markets,” he said.
He pointed out that sales were also impacted by reduced demand for Greenshell mussels across many regions and the lowest commodity prices for skipjack tuna in five years.
This in turn impacted the mussel farming operation by a price reduction following limited demand, but this has since been recovering.
Mr Kuntzsch said that recent investments into the organisational structure of the company and into innovation will enhance performance in the medium term.
He added: “We think there is a shift amongst consumers from seeking convenience food to preparing quality fresh food and for us as a business that is fantastic news.”
