December 22, 2020
Home cooking pushed up Sealord result
Sealord Group has weathered the initial stages of the COVID-19 storm, reporting a net profit after tax of NZD $29.3 million for the year ended September 30.
It would have been $34 million, 6 per cent up on 2019, but for a $4.7 million one-off adjustment relating to the acquisition of the remaining 50 per cent of shares in Tasmanian salmon farmer Petuna Aquaculture.
Revenue increased by 11 per cent to $399 million.
Chief executive Doug Paulin said the group had an excellent start to the year and then successfully dealt with the early challenges of COVID-19 in various markets, with most of the major export shipping and market consumption downsides contained to the final quarter.
He attributed the result to the strong performance of the company’s fishing, aquaculture and land-based processing operations, high sales of frozen and canned fish as more people ate at home, as well as positive pricing in the first half of the year.
It was also helped by Ngā Tapuwae o Maui, the arrangement which gives Sealord long term access to annual catch entitlements held by participating iwi, which allows the company to work with a more consistent catch plan.
Sealord is owned 50-50 by iwi and global seafood company Nippon Suisan Kaisha.
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