Bigger fish bring better margins says Tassal

TASMANIAN salmon farmer Tassal said selling bigger salmon had generated better margins in its half-year results to December 2019.

The company, which also farms prawns, announced revenue of AU$274.49 million, a drop of 15.8 per cent on the corresponding period last year, but operating EBITDA was up 3.4 per cent to $66.46 million. Salmon operating EBITDA per kilo increased by 15.5 per cent from $2.98 to $3.44.

Tassal decided to sell and harvest less salmon in the first half to underpin strong harvest volumes and sales in the second half and the next financial year, said Tassal chief executive and managing director Mark Ryan.

Salmon live biomass was up 15.5 per cent to 23,151 tonnes on December 31, 2019, compared to December 31, 2018 (20,044 tonnes). Average salmon size was 4.8kg head-on gutted in the period, an increase of 100 grams compared to 1H19.

‘Salmon live biomass grew significantly over the past six months given our focus on sustainable farming and fish health practices including breeding, biosecurity, feed automation, feed diet formulation, stocking densities, optimising leases with fallowing, growth times and survival,’ said Ryan.