The Scottish Salmon Company PLC Q4 2015 Results
The Scottish Salmon Company's Q4 results
reflect challenging start but strong finish to the quarter
Highlights
The Scottish Salmon Company PLC (SSC) has issued its Q4 2015 results. Revenues were £23.9m (Q4 2014: £30.8m) on harvested volumes of 6,059 tonnes (Q4 2014: 7,373 HOG tonnes). Harvest volumes were below the same period in 2014 due to the alternate production cycles, with the smaller sites being harvested during the quarter being more in line with the 2013 production cycle and volumes.
The main challenges faced during the quarter, which impacted on revenue and harvest volumes included; well boat issues requiring maintenance and severe weather conditions, which together lost 16 days of harvesting; combined with the continuing currency issues caused by the strength of Sterling against the weak Norwegian Krone.
However, despite this, the Group delivered a strong and stable performance for the year. Turnover for 2015 is £100.4m against harvest volumes of 25,569 tonnes. These results are the second highest to date for the Group and compared to 2013 demonstrate a 19% increase in volumes and 18% in revenue (£82.4m/20,825 tonnes).
Exports continue to reflect stable and robust performance during the year despite the currency challenges with GBP. The Scottish Government, 'Year of Food & Drink' campaign provided a very strong platform to reach international buyers at overseas expos, as well as at home in Scotland. SSC's strategy will continue to concentrate on exports in 2016, building on its presence in Europe with its Label Rouge accreditations, as well as leveraging its innovation programme to further expand.
A new site in Benbecula in the Hebrides has been approved adding an additional 2,000T consent. This supports the long-term aim to increase volumes and achieve balanced year round production. SSC continues its measured investment programme in order to support continued improvement and operational efficiency, as well as the Group's growth strategy to produce premium quality Scottish salmon.
Craig Anderson, Managing Director at The Scottish Salmon Company, said:
"When reflecting back on 2015 it is important to see how we have handled a series of challenging circumstances during the year. I firmly believe our results are testament to the fact we have put strong foundations in place over the past few years that have enabled us to demonstrate the stability of the business.
"Moving on to 2016 we have a strong base on which to deliver our forecast of 30,000 tonnes."