On Tuesday, Premium Fishing reported a 40% jump in full-year net profit to R95m due to good catch rates and high sales volumes, for squid in particular.
The landed and sales volumes for the squid division more than doubled in the year to end-August, pushing up the operating profit for the division by 431%.
The fishing company holds fishing rights in squid, lobster, small pelagics, hake deep-sea trawl, hake longline, horse mackerel, swordfish and tuna. It also owns an abalone farm and invests in organic fertilisers.
The acquisition of Talhado during the review period resulted in an increase in fishing rights and the number of fishing vessels used for squid from four vessels in the prior year to 22 vessels in the current one.
The company’s good catch rates, increased market prices and strong volumes resulted in the lobster division maintaining its margin, despite a stronger rand.
“The group continues to focus on the expansion of its abalone farm, additional acquisitions and increasing the diversification of its product basket,” the company said in a statement
“The group expects an increased contribution to the operational performance of the group resulting from the acquisition of Talhado, which includes synergies as a result of cost savings.”
A final dividend of 25c a share was declared, up from 15c a year ago. Headline earnings per share (HEPS) dropped 9% to 36.6c, skewed by an increase in the number of shares in issue following its listing on the JSE.
The share price was up 1.37% to R3.70 in mid-morning trade on the JSE, giving the company a market value of R962m.
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