Loch Duart made less profit last year but geared up for growth
79% fall from £3.4m to £710,000 was anticipated due to salmon farmer's plans
Scotland salmon farmer Loch Duart made a reduced profit after tax of £710,457 in its last financial year, down by 79% from £3.4 million in 2022-23, it revealed in its annual report published today. The company said the decrease was anticipated due to a plan to revise site structures in support of future growth.
Turnover in the financial year from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, was approximately £43.1m, a drop of around £9.5m compared to the £52.5m made in the previous year.
Directors said the company's focus during the year had been on addressing the increasing biological challenges created by rising water temperatures, and on its approach to farming, particularly farm size, that enables it to apply less-intensive solutions which put less strain on fish.
New sites
They added that the company continues to work on increasing production through new sites and to develop the potential of existing sites. Investments in infrastructure and operational capacity were made during 2023-24 and following the year end.
Loch Duart produces around 6,000 tonnes of fish annually at sites in Sutherland and the Hebrides but has also been developing sites off Skye that it bought from Scottish Sea Farms in 2022. Its fixed assets at the end of 2023-24 were worth £39.2m (22-23: £31m) and current assets had increased to £29.2m (£21.1m).
Fish stocks as of March 31, 2024, were valued at £21m.
Fewer staff
The average monthly number of people employed by Loch Duart in 2023-24, including directors, was 167, down from 178 the year before, and employment costs fell from £7.2m to £6.9m. Renumeration for the highest paid director increased from £201,770 in 2022-23 to £320,404.
Loch Duart, which is owned by sustainability focused United States investment fund SAF II Master Fund, LP, reduced its total energy consumption from 6.48 million kWh in 2022-23 to 5.3 kWh last year.
Total emissions, measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), fell from 1,467 to 1,226. Tonnes of CO2e per million pound in sales remained the same, at 28.
