Fishing company Sanford reported an 8 per cent decline in first-half operating earnings. Photo / File
Fishing company Sanford reported an 8 per cent decline in first-half operating earnings after the death of a crew member kept one of its deep water vessels in port for three months.
The company today reported adjusted earnings before interest and tax of $32.6 million for the six months ended
March 31, down from $35.4m the year before. The figures exclude restructuring costs and a $9.9m insurance settlement in the 2018 period.
Net profit was $22.9m, including a $4.1m gain on the sale of quota, and was down 16 per cent from the year earlier figure including the insurance gain. Revenue of $265m was down almost 3 per cent.
Chief executive Volker Kuntzsch said the sad death of Steffan Stewart on the San Granit in November had a big impact across the Sanford "family" and was also reflected in the firm's result.
"We undertook an extensive review of all factory equipment and processes with a view to trying to identify further ways of mitigating potential health and safety risks. The Granit remained in port for three months, which impacted on our catches and subsequently on our financial result."
