Russia’s largest fish farming firm, which porduces salmon in the Barents Sea, increased its harvest volumes by 94 percent, to reach 10,222 tonnes. Operating EBIT/kg was RUB 178.5/kg, in line with global leaders in the industry, and up 8.2% year-on-year.
Russian Aquaculture CEO Ilya Sosnov said: “2017 was a landmark year for the company: strong operating cash flow and proceeds from SPO allowed us to significantly reduce net debt and increase equity capital.”
The year also saw the company’s revenue more than double, to reach RUB 5.0 billion, as the production cycle started at the end of August 2016 reached the stage of harvesting and selling commercial products.
Looking ahead, the company’s ambitious plans for stocking in 2018 are already well underway, with contracts for the purchase and supply of fry and smolt already in place. In 2017, the company acquired two smolt plants in Norway, contributing to its transformation into a vertically integrated holding, and also allocated over RUB 470 million for the purchase of new production equipment. In December, they were awarded licences for five further fish farms in the Barents Sea, creating a base for further growth in line with its strategy.
The company currently owns salmon and trout cultivation rights for 43 sites for the farming of salmon and trout. The total potential production volume for these sites is around 50,000 tonnes of salmonids.
