Nissui Corp. last week issued its first-quarter results covering the period of 1 April to 30 June.
The Japanese seafood company’s sales declined by 6.4 percent, while it operating income and ordinary income rose by 136.3 and 68.8 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
Net income jumped from a loss of JPY 334 million (USD 3.45 million, EUR 2.44 million) to a gain of JPY 648 million (USD 6.69 million, EUR 4.73 million).
Nissui’s business remains stagnant in the tough economic climate. A drop in sales volume, falling prices and write-downs in the value of inventories and reduced catch volumes in North and South America resulted in operating losses in the company's fishing division in the first quarter.
On the other hand, Nissui’s processed food business turned a profit, due to falling raw material prices and increased sales of fish cakes and fish sausages in Japan. Nissui’s fishing and processing businesses tend to offset each other in terms of benefits from higher or lower fish prices.
Sales rose at a sluggish pace in the company’s cold-storage business, but with improved efficiency in transportation and operations the sector earned modest profits.
Geographically, in Japan, there was a decline in both prices and sales volumes of seafood products against the same period last year, with growth in the food business only in low-priced products.
In the company’s Argentine and Chilean fishing operations there was a drop in catch volumes, but improved aquaculture management yielded an increase in overall operating profit. Nissui’s Chilean salmon and trout operation, Salmones Antartica, was pushed into the red last year by the outbreak of infectious salmon anemia in Chile.
The company’s Chinese processing subsidiary in Shandong continued to suffer losses, as Japanese acceptance of Chinese-made retail food products remains low.
And in Europe, a fall in food product sales because of weak demand resulted in a large operating loss and year-over-year decline for the region.
