Seafood conglomerate Camanchaca reported its financial results for 2021, showing a positive end of year with revenues in the fourth quarter of USD 173 million, 40 percent higher than the same quarter in 2020, and increases in all its divisions: Fishing 42 percent, Salmon 41 percent and Other Seafood 8 percent. The foregoing drove a 19 percent increase in full year 2021 revenues, which totaled USD 640 million.
The higher volume of sales of Fishing products, at better prices and lower costs, and the 42 percent increase in salmon prices raised the EBITDA for the 4th quarter to USD 14.6 million, that is, USD 29.2 million higher than the same period of 2020. In this way, the EBITDA of 2021 grew 74 percent reaching USD 39.1 million.
The Chilean company reported that it was compensated for the variable margin that in 2021 would have been generated by the affected frozen plant in October 2020, which added USD 12.1 million to the result, which for a better comparison with respect to previous periods, should be added to EBITDA, with an adjusted pro forma EBITDA result of USD 51.2 million and, therefore, USD 28.7 million higher than 2020.
Net income for the fourth quarter was USD 10.6 million, a significant advance compared to the loss of USD 14.4 million in Q4 2020, caused by the recovery of Salmon prices and costs. The final result for 2021 was positive by USD 8.5 million, much higher than the loss of USD 25.2 million in 2020.
For Salmones Camanchaca, which has already reported its results for the Q4 of 2021, the last quarter stood out for the successful completion of the capital increase – 96 percent of the shares were subscribed, raising USD 23 million- highlighting Camanchaca, which acquired USD 16.3 million in Salmocam shares. The proper restructuring of its long-term debt was also added, through the subscription of a ” Sustainability Linked Loan”, the only one of its kind in the industry in Chile, for a total of USD 135 million, linking the credit spreads to the fulfillment of certain progress in five specific sustainability metrics, which were negotiated with creditors.
In this division, EBITDA for 2021 was USD 6.3 million, compared to zero EBITDA in 2020, driven by better prices and higher volumes sold. The harvests were 42 thousand MT, less than previous years due to the effects of the algae blooms at the beginning of 2021. In its strategy to diversify the Coho species, the company harvested 1,800 MT that were generated in the last part of the year at a high EBIT margin, close to USD 2.5/Kg WFE. The combined EBIT/Kg of Atlantic and Coho in Q4 2021 was USD 0.93, that is, 182 cents more than Q4 2020, an improvement explained by higher prices and lower costs.
“We finished a year that started unfavorably due to bad prices and algae blooms, and that affected us a lot in the first three quarters of 2021. In fact, we finished the 4th quarter in Salmones with good results and with a geographic and species diversification plan, coupled with new farming practices and technologies, all of which seek to reduce the risks inherent to sea farming. For our three businesses, Salmon, Fishing and Other Seafood, the demands continue to give auspicious signs of growth in consumption. And these two challenging years of the pandemic have left us with lessons to be better prepared for the future to come,” said CEO Ricardo García.
