Frankfurt am Main, 18. March 2014

  • Revenue decreased by 39.7 per cent to 117.6 million Euros as expected
  • EBIT margin of 13.6 per cent slightly exceeds guidance

Frankfurt am Main, March 18, 2014. 2013 was a difficult year for the entire seafood processing industry. Tighter resources of raw materials leading to higher raw material costs as well as intense competition resulting in lower selling prices impacted the full year results of Haikui Seafood AG.

According to preliminary figures for the financial year 2013, Haikui Seafood generated revenue of 117.6 million Euros, a decrease of 39.7 per cent compared to the previous year (2012: 195.1 million Euros). This was a result of both a lower average selling price and a lower overall sales volume. Measured in the local currency Renminbi, revenue declined by 38.9 per cent. Gross profit went down by 55.9 per cent to 22.2 million Euros in 2013 (2012: 50.3 million Euros). Accordingly, gross profit margin decreased by 6.9 percentage points to 18.8 per cent. Profit from operations (EBIT) dropped by 63.8 per cent from 44.0 million Euros in 2012 to 15.9 million Euros in 2013, representing an EBIT margin of 13.6 per cent (2012: 22.5 per cent).

With these financial results Haikui Seafood meets its latest revenue guidance and exceeds the EBIT forecast given in December 2013: The company had expected a decrease in revenue in a range between 35 to 45 per cent measured in RMB and an EBIT margin between 11 and 13 per cent in the full year 2013.

"Despite the challenging circumstances our financial situation remains strong and our business model resilient vis-à-vis other Chinese seafood processors. Moving forward, we intend to continue to implement our growth strategy through geographical and product expansion", states Chen Zhenkui, CEO of Haikui Seafood.


Challenging market environment in 2013
The significantly weaker financial results in 2013 were caused by several external factors, which Haikui Seafood had no influence over: On the one hand the increasingly competitive business environment forced Haikui Seafood to lower its selling prices to stay competitive and to retain its customers. On the other hand Haikui Seafood suffered from an overall decline in the total quantities sold mainly due to the tight supply of certain marine species such as prawns, which were effected by the Early Mortality Syndrom, and a poorer harvest of crabs. In addition, the more stringent quality control checks on the part of China Inspection & Quarantine Authorities negatively affected the operations and export sales of all Chinese seafood processing companies by delaying the export shipments and recognition of sales.

Although Haikui Seafood does not expect the operating environment to improve significantly in 2014, the Management Board is confident that the company will return to its growth path.

The final results for the full financial year 2013 will be published with the annual report 2013 on April 16, 2014. 


About Haikui Seafood AG
Haikui Seafood processes fish and seafood for the Chinese and international markets. Its products range includes frozen or canned fish and seafood, produced from a large variety of species of raw fish and seafood, including prawn, crab, various fish species and shellfish as well as cephalopods. Clients of Haikui Seafood are distributors in China and overseas, located mainly in Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Haikui Seafood employs on average 650 permanent employees and 1,072 additional temporary workers as of December 31, 2013. The company has an annual processing capacity of more than 34,000 tonnes (output). The processing facilities are located in the South-East of China on Dongshan Island, Zhangzhou, Fujian Province. Haikui Seafood operates a streamlined supply chain including self-owned processing facilities, in-house research and product development capacities as well as warehousing and cold storage facilities while simultaneously cooperating closely with raw goods suppliers.

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