AKVA Scotland moves from loss to profit year-on-year
Aquaculture supplier AKVA has reported strong growth in Scotland in the last quarter of 2019, despite losses for the group overall. The Inverness-based Scottish branch finished in profit, having made a loss in the same period the year before.
Business also increased in AKVA’s Europe and the Middle East (EME) segment during a period in which AKVA Group attracted orders worth a record-high NOK 1.4 billion (£116 million).
According to AKVA’s Q4 2019 report, EME achieved revenue of NOK 82m, an increase from NOK 41m in the same quarter of 2018. The operations in Scotland, Turkey and export out of Norway came in well above Q4 2018 revenue.
High activity in Americas
In the Americas region, AKVA said activity is still on a relatively high level and the order book is increasing although revenue decreased from NOK 152m in Q4 2018 to NOK 123m in Q4 2019.
The value of the company’s order book at the end of 2019 was NOK 2.3bn, of which NOK 1.3bn is in the land-based sector.
The company had sales of NOK 655m in Q4, compared to NOK 726m in the corresponding period in 2018.
NOK 85m loss
Operating profit (EBIT) was NOK -106m, compared with NOK 22m in Q4 2018. Net profit decreased from NOK 19m in Q4 2018 to NOK -85m in the same period last year.
Full-year turnover was NOK 3,077m (NOK 2,579m in 2018) and EBIT was NOK 130m, the same as in 2018.
The losses in Q4 were blamed on a challenging quarter with several exceptional items, especially in the land-based segment.
China RAS investment
Highlights from Q4 include an order for four barges to be built in Vietnam for delivery in Q3/Q4 2020, and a €10.3m contract with salmon farmer Cooke Aquaculture for a recirculating aquaculture facility (RAS) in Chile, which is part of a larger cooperation agreement.
AKVA also became the chosen technology supplier of a full grow-out salmon RAS project in China by Nordic Aqua Partners, in a deal worth NOK 500m.
In its Q4 report, AKVA said the realisation of the project and AKVA group’s delivery is dependent upon certain conditions to the project’s equity financing. AKVA group will participate with €3.1m of equity in the project.
AKVA also named its new interim chief financial officer today. Andreas Pierre Hatjoullis is serving as Group Controller at AKVA, a position he has had since 2012. He succeeds Simon Nyquist Martinsen, who resigned earlier this month and will continue to support AKVA in a transition period.
