Fish inflation hits Young\’s profits

THE rising cost of fish – both wild caught and farmed – appears to have hit the profits of Young’s, Britain’s largest seafood company.

The Grimsby based business today reported second quarter (January 1 to March 30) turnover of £134.2 million, down by just over £2 million on the same period last year.

The EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) slumped from £5.5 million 12 months ago to £4 million this year.

Young’s CEO Bill Showalter referred briefly to the ‘challenges associated with raw material inflation’,

There is no doubt that the cost of principal species such as cod, haddock and salmon have risen sharply over the past 12 months, placing pressure on all UK seafood processors.

‘Our second quarter results reflect our steady underlying performance, the challenges associated with raw material inflation and a footprint transformation project which had an impact on production, and has since been concluded,’ said Showalter.

‘The steps we have taken to address these issues will be fully reflected in the subsequent quarters.

‘We welcome Mark Richmond as group operations director, who now oversees our manufacturing operations.

‘Proudly making fish dishes for over 200 years, our focus is on inspiring consumers to love fish through our fresh, frozen, own label and branded products.’

Again, there was no mention of the sales process involving Young’s, which was launched more than 12 months ago.