High Liner lands ‘strong start to year’
Seafood firm delivers growth in sales, volume, gross profit
Lunenburg frozen seafood company High Liner Foods Inc. touted increasing demand for its diverse offerings in financial results for the 13 weeks that ended April 2.
“We had a strong start to the year, growing sales and volumes as we strived to satisfy the continued strong demand for our products from retail and food-service customers and consumers,” said Rod Hepponstall, president and CEO of High Liner, in a news release issued Wednesday.
“We grew market share across our business, increased adjusted (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and gross profit and are more profitable today than prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic despite ongoing inflationary and supply chain pressures.”
“I am confident that our efforts to drive continuous improvement and efficiencies, along with our diversified portfolio and supply chain, and the investments we are making in our business, will continue to drive top and bottom-line performance as we execute on our strategy to become the North American leader in branded, value-added seafood.”
Financial results, reported in U.S. dollars, for the first quarter of 2022 include::
Sales increased by $51.3 million, or 21.1 per cent, to $294.7 million, compared to $243.4 million, and sales volume increased by 3.6 million pounds, or 5.2 per cent, to 73.4 million pounds, compared to 69.8 million pounds.
Gross profit increased by $4.3 million, or 7.5 per cent, to $62.0 million, compared to $57.7 million, and gross profit as a percentage of sales decreased to 21.0 per cent, compared to 23.7 per cent.
Adjusted EBITDA increased by $0.5 million, or 1.8 per cent, to $28.3 million, compared to $27.8 million, and adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales decreased to 9.6 per cent, compared to 11.4 per cent.
Net income decreased by $3.2 million, or 18.0 per cent, to $14.6 million, compared to $17.8 million, and diluted earnings per share decreased to $0.41 per share, compared to $0.51 per share.
Adjusted net income increased by $1.0 million, or 7.1 per cent, to $15.1 million, compared to $14.1 million, and adjusted diluted EPS increased to $0.43 per share, compared to $0.40 per share.
The company said its foodservice business continues to rebound and demand from hospitality and institutional customers is increasing. High Liner said it is taking steps to satisfy customer demand but is constrained by continuing global supply chain challenges, which affected sales volumes by about four million pounds, or five per cent, in the first quarter.
The company said it is experiencing shipping delays and raw material supply issues due to global labour shortages, limited shipping container availability and port congestion and shutdowns.
Adjusting prices and product mix due to increased branded and commodity sales resulted in a 21.1 per cent increase in net sales in the quarter versus a year ago, High Liner stated.
“We believe the quality, convenience and variety of products and price points across our portfolio, especially related to value-add, will ensure sustained customer and consumer demand across food-service and retail customers over the long term,” said Hepponstall.
The board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of C$0.10 per share on the company’s common shares, payable on June 15 to holders of record on June 1.