BioMar Group chief executive Carlos Diaz.

BioMar raises expectations despite salmon struggle

Aquafeed producer BioMar has upped its profit guidance for 2018 after a strong third quarter in its non-salmon divisions.

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The Danish company, which has factories around the world including in Scotland and Chile, reported a 2% (7,000 tonnes) year-on-year increase in volumes sold in Q3 and has raised EBITDA guidance for the year from the range of DKK 665-705 million to the range of DKK 690-715 million.

In a press release, BioMar said that while the salmon units in Northern Europe reported an expected decline in revenue, the remaining units increased revenue by 16% compared to Q3 2017.

See light ahead

EBITDA in Q3 was DKK 266m, compared to DKK 252m in the same period last year.

“We knew that Q3 was going to be another challenging quarter for the salmon division due to the tough competition, especially in Norway,” said chief executive Carlos Diaz.

“However, we clearly see light ahead in terms of recovering volumes and results. We have taken several measures improving our long-term financial performance, striving to increase efficiency while at the same time leveraging on our core strength being locally agile with a strong focus on innovation and collaboration. I believe that we in a short time will see our performance in Norway back on track.”

Effort paying off

The year-to-date results of BioMar Group – DKK 879m - are ahead of 2017 (DKK 832m), mainly due to a strong performance in the new business units in Ecuador, Turkey and China. While the consolidated results are in line with the results for 2017, the associated companies and join ventures contributed with 42 million to the group compared to 16 million in 2017.

“Back in 2016, we decided to follow a growth strategy comprising organic as well as in-organic growth. The result of this effort is now paying off,” said Diaz.

“We have during the last year been integrating Alimentsa in the group and we have already experienced positive feedback from the market on our contribution to the development of the shrimp industry. At the same time, we continue to see a positive development in China and Turkey, where we are building up completely new markets with solid growth rates and results.”