Chile-based fishing company Camanchaca has reached a deal with three banks over changes to its long-term credit line.
The newly-signed agreement with Banco Santander Chile, DNB Bank and Rabobank modified the company’s tranche B financing, which was given to Camanchaca in 2017. The $33.3 million originally awarded was fully used and set to amortise in 2024.
The new terms raise the financing to $40 million, extending the repayment plan to a five-year term, including a three-year grace period. The deal also includes two reductions of 10 percent at the end of the third and four years of the term, with the final 80 percent reduction occurring at the end of the fifth year.
“This modification of the refinancing agreement conveniently shifts Camanchaca’s amortization schedule, which now extends until September 2027, thus improving the cash flow profile for the next five years,” Camanchaca CEO Ricardo Garcia said in a statement released to Chile’s financial markets regulator (CMF),
Read more: High salmon prices, low farming costs help Salmones Camanchaca recover
The changes to its credit line comes as the company reported that EBITDA for 1H 2022 reached $74.3 million, up from $9.4 million in 1H 2021, while net income rose to $30.3 million from -$8.4 million in the same period of 2021.
“We have gone through several storms in recent years, including operational difficulties due to the pandemic, sharp price drops due to the closure of restaurants, and adverse oceanographic situations due to summer radiation, but this first semester shows that when markets normalize and environmental conditions are more similar to historical ones, Camanchaca shows the full potential of its fishing and aquaculture assets,” Garcia said announcing the results.
Garcia said the company’s investment in an 60,000-tonne-capacity processing plant helped widen the salmon formats, helping it tap into the strong market demand. Atlantic salmon harvests went up 32 percent to 20,555 MT (WFE )in 1H 2022 year-on year. Sale price of Atlantic salmon was $ 8.50/Kg (WFE), representing 47-percent growth compared to 1H 2021.
