Sanford quits Pacific tuna business, lines up buyers for vessels
By Paul McBeth
Sept. 1 (BusinessDesk) - Sanford, New Zealand's largest listed fishing group, will quit its underperforming Pacific tuna
business and put the unit's fleet up for sale.
The Auckland-based company sold its San Nanumea vessel and is in talks with a potential buyer of San Nikunau, its other
Pacific tuna ship, after reviewing the viability of the business, Sanford said in a statement. On April 9, it entered
into a conditional agreement to sell both international purse seiner vessels, according to Sanford's interim report
released in June.
"Continuing unsatisfactory returns driven by low prices and the strict commodity nature of skipjack tuna coupled with
ever increasing access costs to the fishery, resulted in the decision to exit this business and offer the vessels for
sale," chief executive Volker Kuntzsch said.
Sanford sold one of its international purse seiners last year, which improved the performance of the remaining two tuna
vessels in the six months ended March 31, but faced higher access costs around the South Pacific and low prices for
skipjack tuna, which hit a five-year low in the period. Skipjack accounted for about 5 percent of its $226 million
revenue in the half.
In May, Sanford posted an 18 percent decline in first-half profit as it balanced falling commodity prices for its
skipjack tuna, blue mackerel and other oily fish, with strong demand for its deepwater fish catches and stable prices
for its greenshell mussels. The company also wrote down the value of certain fishing vessels by $6 million in the
period.
The shares were unchanged at $5.10, and have gained 6.3 percent this year.
(BusinessDesk)