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By Undercurrent News
Photo credit: Aqua.cl
As its sale to Chilean agribusiness giant Agrosuper heads to a close, salmon farmer Empresas AquaChile saw its quarterly sales and earnings double in the third quarter of 2018, the company’s latest financial filings reveal.
The Puerto Montt-based company finished the three months that ended Sept. 30 with sales of $220.6 million, a 108% year-on-year increase, and pre-value adjustment earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $32.6m, a 111% rise. The growth was boosted to a large extent by AquaChile’s acquisitions of Salmones Magallanes and Pesquera Eden, which were announced earlier this year.
The acquisitions helped AquaChile post a Q3 2018 net profit of $15.6m, compared to $10.4m in Q3 2017.
AquaChile announced in May that it had signed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of Salmones Magallanes and Pesquera Eden for an approximate value of $255m, adding 26 net-pen aquaculture farms as well as a recirculating aquaculture facility and a processing plant in Puerto Natales. In 2017, Salmones Magallanes harvested 22,900 metric tons of Atlantic salmon and has the potential to reach more than 40,000t in the medium term.
Add that to the 110,000t of salmon, trout and tilapia AquaChile had estimated it would produce in 2018.
Then, in early August, Agrosuper, a Chilean conglomerate with chicken, pork and turkey holdings as well as ownership of the salmon farmer Los Fiordos, revealed its plans to buy 67% of Empresas AquaChile in a not-yet-closed deal that could reach $850m.
The acquisition of Magallanes allowed AquaChile to sell 31% more salmon during the third period of 2018, Aqua reports. The additional salmon also meant 28% greater distribution costs for AquaChile, as it took on more storage, dispatch and refrigeration costs. The company also saw its operating costs and other expenses increase by 41% and its administrative expenses increase by 59%.
AquaChile’s Q3 2018 profits were also helped significantly by its sale of 49% of its property in Salmones Chaicas, which produced an additional income of $18.2m.
Source: https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2018/12/03/magallanes-acquisition-helps-aquachile-double-q3-sales-earnings/
