Cargill notes effects of U.S. president’s tax changes
World feed and livestock giant, Cargill Aqua Nutrition — owner of the salmon-feed brand, EWOS — has reported that its adjusted operating earnings for the third-quarter of 2018 were down 22 percent to USD 559 million on the effects of new US tax rules and a slower fish feed market.
The new US Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created a net charge of USD 166 million, and the company said that excluding that amount, its earnings were in-line with the same period in 2017.
The company’s “aqua-nutrition” segment, where EWOS is placed, “trailed the year-ago quarter due to a mix of factors, including lower pricing in some markets”, the company said.
Cargill, which saw revenues of USD 109.6 billion in 2017, also had the bills to pay for new Norwegian feed plant and a fish feed mill in Andhra Pradesh state, an aquaculture hub in India. Cargill Norway, EWOS’s Norway-listed parent company, posted an operating loss of EUR 12.5 million for 2017.
Cargill entered the salmon-feed market with EUR 1.35-billion purchase of EWOS from Altor and Bain Capital in 2015.
EWOS operating profit in 2017 was 747 million kroner, a year that saw lower volumes and but higher sales prices, as the Norwegian feed market was steady at 1,718,000 tonnes.
