17th Nov 2015 09:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - Aquatic Foods Group PLC on Tuesday reported a rise in revenue in the first nine months of 2015, but warned that growth will be at a more modest rate next year than it has been in the last few years.
The Chinese marine foods and seafood producer said group revenue for the nine months ended September 30 grew 20% to CNY678.7 million from CNY565.9 million. It said gross margin in the third quarter was under pressure from challenging market conditions, but that its expectations for the full year remain unchanged.
Sales of fish products grew 32% in the period, boosted by mackerel, greenling and cod, despite sales not increasing at the same rate as kilograms processed in the third quarter. Aquatic Foods said its product mix was hit by consumer demand changes in the quarter, pushing down the average price per kilogram of processed fish.
Meanwhile, sales of sea cucumber products have continued to suffer from attitudes in China towards the giving of conspicuous high-value gifts, Aquatic Foods said, while cephalopod sales fell 11% in the nine months.
Sales of gift boxes also slowed in the third quarter, with sales down 13%, reflecting the Chinese government policy of discouraging corporate gift-giving.
Aquatic Foods said it expects the current challenging market conditions to continue over the near term, resulting in a more "measured" growth trajectory during 2016 for both sales and profit.
"While the group continues to expand its sales in [China], the trading environment has become more challenging reflecting wider factors in the Chinese economy. Consequently the group is seeking to exploit new sales channels by specifically targeting sales to [Chinese] supermarkets, a more resilient part of the Chinese foods market, through its distributor partners as well as a focus on export markets although the latter tend to attract lower margins," Aquatic Foods said in a statement.
Shares in Aquatic Foods were untraded on Tuesday, last quoted at 34.40 pence.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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