Tough end to a good year for SSC
The Scottish Salmon Company experienced a challenging end to 2015, with wellboat maintenance and severe weather conditions leading to 16 days of harvesting lost; some “isolated instances of mortality on specific sites”; and the continuing currency issues caused by the strength of Sterling against the weak Norwegian Krone.
The Q4 report, which was released today, reveals that EBIT per kilo was £0.07, down from £0.25 in Q4 2014, despite “a site swap with another operator on Mull”, which "positively impacted the Group’s EBIT per kg result".
Revenues for the quarter were £23.9m (Q4 2014: £30.8m) on harvested volumes of 6,059 tonnes (Q4 2014: 7,373 HOG tonnes). Harvest volumes were below the same period in 2014 due to the alternate production cycles, with the smaller sites being harvested during the quarter being more in line with the 2013 production cycle and volumes.
Despite this, however, the company achieved the second highest harvest volumes (25,569 tonnes) and turnover (£100.4 million) in its history during 2015. These results are up by 19% in volumes and 18% in revenue (£82.4m/20,825 tonnes) compared to 2013 – the last time these sites were harvested.
Exports continue to reflect stable and robust performance during the year despite the currency challenges with GBP. The Scottish Government, 'Year of Food & Drink' campaign provided a very strong platform to reach international buyers at overseas expos, as well as at home in Scotland. SSC's strategy will continue to concentrate on exports in 2016, building on its presence in Europe with its Label Rouge accreditations, as well as leveraging its innovation programme to further expand.
Future prospects
A new site in Benbecula in the Hebrides has been approved, adding an additional 2,000 tonnes consent, which should produce its first harvest midway through 2017. Combined with the consent for two other new sites during 2015, it should help the group break the 30,000 tonne mark by 2018.
The company is also involved in a collaborative lumpsucker project – in partnership with MH Scotland, BioMar, Otter Ferry Seafish and Benchmark – which is supported by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre. As a result, “by the end of 2016, it is the Group’s intention to have most active sea sites stocked with cleaner fish”.
The company also intends to continue to focus its efforts on its “Native Origin” broodstock programme, based at the Group’s hatchery in North Uist, which will produce an exclusive strain of salmon be aimed at “key international markets”.
Craig Anderson, SSC’s Managing Director, said: "When reflecting back on 2015 it is important to see how we have handled a series of challenging circumstances during the year. I firmly believe our results are testament to the fact we have put strong foundations in place over the past few years that have enabled us to demonstrate the stability of the business. Moving on to 2016 we have a strong base on which to deliver our forecast of 30,000 tonnes."
