Sea Harvest has reported a 45% decline in full-year headline earnings, reflecting a combination of historically low hake catch rates, persistent weakness in global seafood markets and rising interest costs, which outweighed revenue growth driven by acquisitions.
Headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the year ended December dropped to 55c from 100c the previous year.
The fishing group on Tuesday said it faced one of its toughest years since listing in 2017, as key challenges including soft demand in the abalone market, global prawn price pressures, and the effect of foot-and-mouth disease on Ladismith’s dairy operations strained overall profitability.
Despite a 16% increase in revenue to R7.18bn, earnings were hit by inflationary cost pressures, lower catch volumes and higher debt servicing costs, with net finance costs rising 24%.
The decline in HEPS was exacerbated by a one-off R93m gain on purchased loans recorded in 2023, the group said. Profit after tax attributable to shareholders fell 20%. As a result, the group declared a lower final dividend of 22c per share, from 40c in the previous year.
To counter these pressures, Sea Harvest has outlined a strategic focus on fleet expansion, price increases and operational efficiencies. The group plans to introduce four new trawlers by the end of 2025 to take advantage of a 5% increase in the hake total allowable catch, while also seeking cost containment and improved production efficiencies.
The group said it remained optimistic about early signs of hake catch rate recovery in 2025, increased milk volumes supporting Ladismith’s performance and efforts to expand fishmeal factory capacity within its pelagic business. However, it acknowledged that economic headwinds and soft global seafood demand remain key risks in the near term.
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