Aker's fish processing line. The company achieved favourable sales of fresh fillets during Q1 but poor frozen fillet product sales. (Photo: Aker)

Aker Seafoods sees grand Q1

EBITDA for the first three months of 2010 was the best-ever quarterly result for Aker Seafoods. The firm’s processing segment achieved favourable sales of fresh fillets during Q1 but poor frozen fillet product sales. Its harvesting business saw higher demand and prices for frozen products.

The firm harvested 34 per cent of the cod quota during the first quarter against 24 per cent in the corresponding period of 2009. Quotas for 2010 are 16 per cent up from last year.

“The plants in Norway enjoyed good supplies of raw material, and production increased. Good supplies of fresh raw material from the coastal fishing fleet during the quarter contributed to a further increase in the proportion of fresh products during the quarter,” said Aker Seafoods' CEO Liv Monica Stubholt.

Akers fisheries (Photo: Aker Seafoods)

“The challenge is that quotas are in short supply for the rest of the year in relation to the company's processing capacity. But remaining quotas for the coastal fishing fleet are low. That will influence activity in the processing segment in the time to come,” she added.

Sales from the plants in France and Denmark fell along with demand, partly due to high salmon prices, the latter of which also helped to lower the company's margin. In France, though, higher trout prices added to some improvement in the success of the company's production of this species.

Operating revenues reached NOK 780 million (EUR 99 million) for the first quarter, compared with NOK 639 million (EUR 81.3 million) in the same period of 2009, mainly from increased volumes in Norway. Aker Seafoods achieved EBITDA of NOK 102 million (EUR 13 million), compared with NOK 54 million (EUR 6.9 million) in the same period of last year.

Cod is the company’s chief raw material, and it expects supplies of this species to be lower for the rest of 2010. Despite mounting by 16 per cent from 2009, the cod quota remaining to be fished is smaller than at 31 March 2009.

Aker Seafoods has also harvested a bigger share of the cod quota and has 66 per cent remaining for the next three quarters.

The company is working toward refining sales, marketing activities, distribution and processing in Norway, Denmark and France via a separate company. Subject to approval of the plan by the board, Aker Seafoods will become a pure harvesting company for cod, saithe and haddock. 

The volume harvested by Aker Seafoods in Q1 rose by 29 per cent from the same period in 2009.

Related article:

- Aker Seafoods' Q4 points sector in right direction

By Natalia Real
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

Address:	Fjordalléen 16 - Postboks 1301
City:	Oslo
State/ZIP:	(0250)
Country:	Norway
Phone:	+47 24 13 01 60
Fax:	+47 24 130 161
E-Mail:	[email protected]
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