“Impact of COVID-19 is still uncertain”.
The Oslo Stock Exchange-listed Chilean salmon farmer Salmones Camanchaca posted its Q1 results.
EBIT was down 24.2 per cent to USD 11.4 million compared to USD 15 million the year before.
Revenue was up 12.5 per cent to USD 84 million, reflecting higher volumes but offset by lower prices.
Atlantic farming live weight cost during the quarter decreased 9.2 per cent compared to Q1 2019, reaching USD 3.15/kg, slightly above long term target of USD 3/kg and with average harvest weight of 4.9Kg.
The total cost of processing at USD 0.91/Kg registered a drop of 14.2 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year and is 9 per cent below the long-term target of USD 1/kg. The decrease is a result of the large scale efficiencies implemented in the plant to “avoid contagions and maintain operational continuity”.
Despite taking many measures to fight the pandemic, vice chairman Ricardo García, said that the “impact of COVID-19 is still uncertain”: “Taking care of the health of the workers and at the same time giving continuity to the operation and work, are things that can be done together and has been our main objective in the last 45 day,” he said.
“Although the impact of COVID-19 is still uncertain, our industry is a producer of very healthy food and we do not see an impact on demand beyond the short term, so we maintain our fundamental plans, with an estimate of 2020 Atlantic harvest volume of 51,000 to 53,000 tons WFE and 3,500 of Coho,” he explained.
On the pandemic, the vice-chairman said that: “is not the virus that is going to be removed but we who have to adjust to it.” García also commented that “the high degree of support and adherence to the preventive measures adopted at an early stage, allowed us to avoid contagion within our facilities and continue to work with lower density shifts, adjusting to new circumstances and giving employees the confidence that working in Camanchaca is as safe as being at home”.
Its outlook for the year for Atlantic salmon is estimated to be 5 per cent lower than earlier guiding at 51-53,000 tonnes. Estimates for harvesting volume of coho, as well as stocking of coho smolt, have also been cut.
