Higher volumes and better efficiency support formidable stock market growth.
Salmones Camanchaca’s listing last spring marked the first Chilean fish farmer to be listed on Oslo Stock Exchange. Its listing has been a great success. The share price has risen by 85 per cent in one year.
The exchange commenced on Monday evening the results for the fourth quarter of 2018. It shows that the company earned USD 24.5 million in the quarter – an increase of 85.7 per cent from the same period last year.
More fish
Salmones Camanchaca harvested 13,944 tonnes of salmon in the last quarter of the year, which resulted in an annual harvest volume of 48,496 tonnes.
Operating profit for the entire 2018 country was USD 72.1 million, an improvement of solid 72.5 per cent from 2017.
The main explanation behind the increase in results was simple: More fish to harvest. The company’s harvesting volume increased by 41.7 per cent from 2017 to 2018. Supported by historically high salmon prices, this has given good results.
Continuing to grow
Salmones Camanchaca Vice Chairman Ricardo GarcÃa is pleased with the achievements.
“This year we have managed to exceed the goals set under our IPO (initial purchase offer) with record results and a more competitive position in the next few years. We reached our harvest estimates for the year and maintain our original forecasts for 2019, at 55,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon, while costs have been somewhat lower than expected.
“In 2019, Salmones Camanchaca will add a new business line with the harvest of an estimated 4,000 tons of coho, and better utilization of our available site capacity,” he adds.
Cut debt
The company has largely used earnings to get rid of debt. In the past year, net debt has been reduced by 63 per cent.
Nevertheless, the board promises dividends to shareholders. A general meeting, which is scheduled for April 26, a dividend of 30 per cent of the net result, i.e USD 0.22 per share, has been nominated.
