Nutreco reported an increased EBITA of 23.9% to € 43.5 million (H1 2013: € 35.1 million) in its Fish Feed operations for the first half of the year. This was mainly driven by higher salmon feed volumes in Norway due to exceptional market circumstances and the contribution of the operating companies in Ecuador and Egypt which were acquired in 2013.
Overall, Nutreco reported revenue of € 2,460.0 million; an increase of 2.6% compared to H1 2013. Organic volume effect was 5.2%. First half year EBITA before exceptional items of € 108.2 million, was 15.0% higher than last year (H1 2013: € 94.1 million)
Based on current trading conditions and barring any unforeseen circumstances Nutreco expects full year 2014 EBITA before exceptional items from continuing operations to be at least equal to 2013 (€ 256.3 million). Historically Nutreco’s result is weighted towards the second half of the year mainly due to seasonality in Fish Feed.
Knut Nesse, CEO Nutreco said \"We are pleased to report a satisfying first half year operating result of € 108.2 million which has been achieved due to better performances in all segments.
\"In Fish Feed the first half year operating result was clearly higher than in the same period of 2013. This was mainly due to higher salmon feed volumes in Norway as a result of exceptional market circumstances in the first six months of the year. A key strategic aim is to maintain our global market share in salmon feed as well as diversifying into feed for other species given their growth potential. The growth in feed for other species is helping to mitigate the impact of market developments in the Norwegian salmon feed market. Therefore we are pleased to see a strong contribution in results from our shrimp and tilapia feed companies in Ecuador and Egypt. We acquired these companies in 2013 as part of our strategy to grow in non-salmonid species and growth geographies.
\"In June we organised our 10th biennial AquaVision conference in Stavanger, Norway for stakeholders in the global aquaculture value chain with more than 400 delegates from 45 countries. I believe this event again made a convincing case that aquaculture will play a significant role to secure food availability for a growing world population. Therefore Nutreco will continue to undertake a leading role in developing the feed industry to enable increased production of high quality sustainable fish and shrimp feed on all continents. Currently we already produce feed for a diversified portfolio of more than 60 species of fish and shrimp in 16 countries, with sales in over 40 countries. We aim to maintain and achieve market-leading positions in fish and shrimp feed both geographically and across different species. In order to achieve this, we will continue to work on unique sustainable feed products that are driven by innovation\".
