Lancashire, United Kingdom-based Oceanic Seafoods posted higher turnover, gross profit, and profit before tax in the financial year ending 28 February 2023.
The company, which released its annual report on the U.K. Companies House, posted a turnover for the financial year ending 28 February 2023 of GBP 51.7 million (USD 65.9 million, EUR 60 million), an increase from GBP 33 million (USD 42 million, EUR 38 million) it posted in the same period of 2022. It also posted an increase in gross profit to GBP 1.97 million (USD 2.5 million, EUR 2.2 million), up from GBP 1.21 million (USD 1.5 million, EUR 1.4 million) in 2022.
The company’s profit before tax, meanwhile, increased to GBP 1.3 million (USD 1.65 million, EUR 1.5 million), up from GBP 645,000 (USD 822,000, EUR 748,000).
The year, the company said in its report, was punctuated by disruptions within the sector. In 2022, the U.K. economy was still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In China, where the company purchases and imports the majority of its seafood, the country was still operating under a strict government ‘zero Covid policy,’” Oceanic said. “This resulted in many local provincial lockdowns, meaning production capacity was reduced to around 50 percent for most primary processors who supplied the business.”
China kept up its zero-covid policy throughout most of 2022, and only began to relax that policy in December. Given Oceanic Seafoods’ financial year ended on 28 February 2023, most of the reported period was dealing with the consequences of the zero-covid policy.
Oceanic said another impact on the business was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which forced the company to quickly find non-Russian origins seafood products.
“Another byproduct of the war was that fuel and energy costs increased putting more inflation into the business,” it said.
Even with the difficulty, revenue went up 57 percent, and the board said it remains “confident” that the growth and sustainability of the business is sound.
Photo courtesy of Oceanic Seafoods
