NZ King Salmon sizzles in latest result

NZ King Salmon says sales are up.

New Zealand King Salmon says its dramatic turnaround has continued, reporting net profit of $10.6 million in six months.

That result for the half-year ending on July 31 this year compared with a net loss of $24.5m a year before.

Fewer fish were dying prematurely and the company attributed that to better farming techniques.

Ebitda was $10.7m, compared to an ebitda loss of $12.7m a year earlier.

In an NZX announcement, NZ King Salmon said sales volumes rose to 3024 metric tonnes.

Revenues increased from $80.0m in the first half of last year to $91.6m in the latest result.

“Our new farming strategies have resulted in reductions in mortality, with mortality reducing from $22.3m to $7.8m, when compared to the prior comparable period,” New Zealand King Salmon chairman Mark Dewdney said today.

“This, combined with a focus on operational excellence across our processing and sales operations has resulted in a strong result for the first half of FY24.”

NZKS farms king salmon in Pelorus and Queen Charlotte Sounds in the Marlborough Sounds, as well as Tory Channel.

In recent years, the two bodies of water have at times seen water temperatures above the optimum range for salmon farming.

Dewdney today added: “It is an exciting time for the company, with performance improving, the appointment of a new chief executive officer, Carl Carrington, and the successful completion of the Blue Endeavour resource consent application mediation.”

The Blue Endeavour project, five years in the planning, will involve rearing fish in colder waters 7km off the South Island coast in Cook Strait.

NZ King Salmon has been pinning hopes on the Blue Endeavour project planned in Cook Strait. Photo / Supplied

The fish company’s board today provided a revised pro-forma ebitda guidance in a range of $23.5m to $27.5m.

Dewdney today also thanked acting chief executive Graeme Tregidga.

“The board wanted to acknowledge the way Graeme navigated NZKS through a period of immense change and delivered a strong set of results. We are pleased to be retaining Graeme’s talents and corporate knowledge in the business as he returns to the GM of Sales role,” he said.

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