BAITING UP FOR A $6M CATCH
FOR most families, salmon, barramundi and prawns are a seafood feast. For the Catalano family, it’s big business.
Since 1969 – starting as a fish shop in Perth – Francesco Catalano and his sons have bought, sold and processed seafood.
Next month, they will become the newest – and perhaps the most peculiar – addition to the ASX. Run by Francesco’s son Nick, the business is attempting to raise up to $6m to upgrade its processing facilities in Perth.
“The vision of growth really came from myself and (brother) Paul,” Nick said.
“As youngsters involved in private enterprise you become ambitious and I think in the early ’80s we built a processing facility to go into wholesale … we’ve been innovators in the retail industry.”
But why float the family business, especially now?
“Well, you get to a point where you have to take a giant step … you can’t go back and become smaller and you can’t stay the way you are,” Mr Catalano said. “Listing and having this capital injection will enable us to achieve some of our goals that relate to the real growth plan.”
According to prospectus, Catalano Seafood employs 80 staff and has 60 customers and distribution through Metcash, the operator of IGA supermarkets.
The money raised through the float will allow Catalano Seafood to increase its processing capacity and expand its operations – it distributes prawns, oysters, salmon, snapper, barramundi and other fish – to Australia’s east coast.
At listing – expected on February 24 – Catalano will have a market value of about $17m. It has, however, recorded losses in recent years. In the financial year to June 30, it posted a $500,000 loss from sales of $17m. It also posted losses of $461,000 in 2020 and $864,000 in 2019.