November 4, 2019

Peruvian fishmeal producer witnesses drop in third quarter earnings

Peruvian fishmeal producer Pesquera Exalmar has seen seen a decline in earnings in the third quarter of this year due to lower anchovy catches and higher operational costs.

The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped to $17.3 million, down 54% compared with the same period in 2018.

According to Exalmar, the decline "was due to greater fishing effort amid dispersal of the resource, to a high presence of juveniles that caused temporary closures and in addition to the bad weather that meant continuous port closures."

The increase in the price of raw material purchased from third parties, as well as a decrease in sale prices from $1,593 per tonne in September 2018 to $1,468 per tonne in September 2019 also impacted gross margins, Exalmar added.

Between January and September, the company's EBITDA dropped 36% to $54.4 million, despite a 2% rise in sales.

"The effective catch corresponding to the first season of 2019 decreased by 36.9% compared to the first fishing season of 2018, while fishmeal sale prices decreased 7.6% and fish oil prices increased 52.4%," Exalmar said.

In August, the company appointed Claudio Castaeeda as the new manager of indirect human consumption operations and Cesar Mendoza as the new innovation and continuous improvement manager.

- Undercurrent News