Blumar plunges from profit to loss in first half of 2020
Chilean salmon farming and fishing company Blumar went from a profit of US $11.8 million in the first half of 2019 to a loss of $30.9m the same period this year.
H1 2020 revenues rose by 17% to $243m compared to H1 2019, but the company’s EBITDA fell by 25% to $32m.
In a statement to the Financial Market Commission, Blumar said the results are mainly explained by a lower result in its aquaculture segment as a consequence of lower prices obtained during the period and fair value adjustment of biomass. A drop in sales values caused by the effects of the Covid-19 restrictions also had an impact.
Volume up, price per kilo down
In its aquaculture division, led by salmon farming, Blumar increased its revenues by 17.8% from $106.4m to $ 125.4m during H1 2020. However, EBITDA plunged from $16.2m to -$ 7.8m, sharply increasing the division’s losses from $2m to $54.9m during the period.
The poor result is due to a 22% drop in the average sales price achieved by Salmones Blumar compared to H1 2019, down from $6.08 per kilo WFE (whole fish equivalent) to $ 4.77 per kilo WFE.
The sinking of Blumar’s Caicura salmon farm in rough seas caused a loss of salmon worth $12.1m and infrastructure valued at $3.2m, although £13.9m of the cost was met by insurance, leaving the company with a net loss of $2.2m.
The volume of Atlantic salmon harvested by Blumar in the first six months of 2020 increased 47% to 30,810 tonnes WFE, of which 13,127 tonnes was from its subsidiary BluRiver in the Magallanes region. The average price was 22% lower than in H1 2019.
The volume of coho salmon harvested increased by 53% in H1 2020, with the price falling just 1% compared to 2019.
Salmones Blumar’s ex-cage cost was $3.2 per kilo WFE in Q2 2020, 19% lower than the $3.9 per kilo obtained in the same period of 2019. The result was due to lower mortality, better feed conversion and higher productivity.
