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Booming oyster sales help Angel spread wings

Primary Industries

The Southern Hemisphere’s largest organic certified pacific oyster producer, Angel Seafood, has reported a $719,000 net profit for the six months to December 31 after shifting its focus from restaurants to retail amid 2020 coronavirus shutdowns.

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The South Australian company’s 74 per cent increase in post-tax profit follows record half-year sales of 5.1 million oysters, up 55 per cent on the first half of the 2020 calendar, generating revenues of $3.8 million.

The Port Lincoln-based company’s profit was also aided by cost reductions of 20 per cent achieved through the company’s increasing scale and productivity gains.

One of the keys to the company’s increased sales volumes in the past 12 months has been a focus on retail channels following a downturn in sales to restaurants during 2020 coronavirus shutdowns.

In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange this morning, Angel Seafood said it would now report its results based on the calendar year rather than the previous June 30 financial year-end to more closely align with its growing and sales cycle

Founder and CEO Zac Halman said the latter half of 2020 was a period of “significant progress and development” for the company.

“This is a fantastic outcome and demonstrates the underlying strength of our business and the continued demand for oysters,” he said.

Halman outlined goals for Angel Seafood’s future, with the company aiming to double its annual production capacity to 20 million oysters a year.

The company raised $4 million in December to help fund its ‘3-pillar growth strategy’, which aims to increase production, increase productivity and improve oyster pricing by positioning the company as a premium brand.

Angel Seafood is on its way to achieving the first pillar after a recent acquisition of 6.25 hectares of water leases on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula increased its production capacity to 12 million oysters per annum.

It has also been focused on increasing its stock profile, investing $380,000 in spat purchases during the second half of 2020. In addition to purchasing ‘traditional’ spat, the company has procured and begun trials with triploid spat, which are sterile and grow faster than traditional juveniles. With the triploid spat, Angel Seafood hopes to extend its sales season to year-round, potentially increasing sales revenue by 10-15 per cent.

The company’s share price was up 7 per cent this morning to $0.15, giving it a market cap of $23.34 million.

Angel Seafood is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest sustainable and organic certified pacific oyster producer, supplying both domestic and international restaurant and retail markets.

The Eyre Peninsula, about 250km west of the South Australian capital Adelaide, is known as Australia’s seafood frontier and is a premium producer of tuna, abalone, oysters, lobster and kingfish for global export markets.

 

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