Scottish salmon-grower Loch Duart has reported that a “jellyfish attack” on the company’s exposed northwest-Scotland salmon farms “affected both revenues and profits” in its full-year accounting for 2017.
Yet, the full Loch Duart year that ended on March 31st, 2017, saw the company earn pre-tax profit of GBP 8.5 million, up GBP 10.9 million from a pre-tax loss it recorded a year ago. Company turnover nearly doubled to GBP 42.5 million.
What impairment the jellyfish wrought was not immediately be made known to SalmonBusiness. Having waded through the mush onslaught with a pre-tax profit, the company did, however, pay out to its 115 employees a GBP 3.4 million bonus “shared with all staff”.
“Our last financial year featured good fish growth, better control of the biological challenges facing the whole industry and strong salmon prices,” stated Loch Duart managing director, Alban Denton.
The company said it will re-invest GBP 2.9 million this year, with similar capital deployments for “2017-2018”. Company debt, meanwhile, has been paid down to GBP 2.6 million as of the end of March 2017, down from GBP 7.2 million.
