Associated Seafoods turnover up by £6 million

SCOTLAND’S Associated Seafoods has announced a £6 million plus increase in its year-on-year turnover, but an otherwise solid performance is being overshadowed by rising fish prices.
The company, also known as ASL, is the parent organisation of a specialist group of seafood companies that comprises Moray Seafoods, Lossie Seafoods and GlenIsla Shellfish.
The company trades in a wide range of high end products including Scottish premium smoked salmon, Scottish langoustine, and Scottish crab and scallops. Its customers include some of the world\’s top restaurants and hotels.
For its financial year ended October 31, 2017, turnover in the salmon business increased by 51 per cent from £12.66 million to £19.08 million.
The operating profit rose from £140,000 to £250,000. ASL said the rise in turnover was the direct result of a full year’s trade with a top tier retailer, thought to be Marks & Spencer.
Turnover in the shellfish business rose from £2.45 million to £2.8 million into an operating profit of £0.11 million compared with a loss of £0.50 million in the previous year.
But like other seafood processors ASL is battling against steeply rising fish prices – salmon prices were up by more than 40 per cent at one period during the financial year.
The company said: ‘The production review undertaken in 2016 has yielded greater efficiencies during this (financial) year which have manifested in improved gross margins.
‘However, this improvement has been diluted due to the large increase in fish costs.’
The directors said they were pleased with the progress made during the year, but added that the increase in fish prices was continuing to present challenges into 2018.
ASL is now looking globally for new growth, saying: ‘There are opportunities around the world that the company is working on for premium quality Scottish smoked salmon, smoked in Scotland, with emphasis being made of (its) unique selling points.’