African fishing behemoth Oceana Group posted a solid set of results for the six months ended March 2018, as efficiencies on the continent and material volume improvements made an impact
African fishing behemoth Oceana Group posted a solid set of results for the six months ended March 2018, as efficiencies on the continent and material volume improvements made an impact.
Headline earnings for the period increased by 60% compared to the prior period. The company declared an interim dividend of 112 cents per share.
Imraan Soomra, interim CEO of the group, was happy to see the firm turn the corner after a troubled 2017.
“Our performance during this six months was underpinned by a recovery of our African operations. Materially higher canned fish volumes, improved SA horse mackerel landings, better hake vessel utilisation and improved exchange rates for our frozen fish procurement were positives during the period," said Soomra.
"These tailwinds were adversely impacted by pricing in our US operations, a stronger rand on export revenues and reduced fish landings in Angola."
Group revenue increased by 11% to R3 489 million, driven by an 18% improvement in revenue from its African operations.
Operating profit from African operations increased by 51%, driven by lower raw material and logistics costs, and improved vessel utilisation and catch rates in the hake and horse mackerel segment.
Established in 1918, JSE-listed Oceana Group is the largest fishing company in Africa and an important participant in the Namibian, Angolan and US fishing industries. Their core business is the catching, processing, marketing and distribution of canned fish and it also provides refrigerated warehouse facilities and logistical support services, employing 5 690 people.
Oceana CFO Soomra is an award-winning financial executive who also took on the CEO role on an interim basis in February.
Earlier, the group reported tax income of R47m for the interim period, from a tax expense of R105m a year before, thanks largely to a once-off $13m deferred tax adjustment at its Daybrook Fisheries unit in the US. Oceana bought Daybrook in mid-2015.
The new US regime cut the federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, effective from January 1 2018.
