Fish inflation hits Young’s profits

THE rising cost of fish – both wild caught and farmed – appears to have hit the profits of Young’s Seafood.

The Grimsby based business reported second quarter (January 1 to March 30) turnover of £134.2 million, down by just over £2 million on the same period last year.

The EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) slumped from £5.5 million 12 months ago to £4 million this year.

Young’s CEO Bill Showalter referred briefly to the ‘challenges associated with raw material inflation’,

The cost of principal species such as cod, haddock and salmon have risen sharply over the past 12 months, placing pressure on all UK seafood processors.

‘Our second quarter results reflect our steady underlying performance, the challenges associated with raw material inflation and a footprint transformation project which had an impact on production, and has since been concluded,’ said Showalter.

‘The steps we have taken to address these issues will be fully reflected in the subsequent quarters.’