Clearwater Reports $133.7-Million In Sales, A Decrease Due to Covid-19
HALIFAX – Clearwater Seafoods says it made $133.7 million in sales and $12.5-million in profit during the third quarter of its fiscal year. This may sound like a lot of money, but back in the same quarter in 2019, the seafood giant made $175.2 million in sales. That’s more than a $40 million difference.
In terms of year-to-date sales, Clearwater has reported $340 million in total sales, compared to $449.2 million last year.
On a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Clearwater CEO Ian Smith said the Covid-19 pandemic was the main reason for lower sales. Although international borders weren’t closed to Clearwater’s exports, the pandemic’s effect on the worldwide restaurant industry created less demand for seafood products.
“We did not lose access to any markets, but historically our business has been weighted towards food-service establishments,” said Smith. “In fact, seafood disproportionately is eaten in food-service establishments, because knowledge of how to shop and how to prepare it is less than what it is for other proteins.”
“Many of our shellfish products are consumed in the sushi (style)…particularly in Asia. That was impacted because not a lot of people know how to make sushi at home.”
Despite fears that the world is encountering the second wave of Covid-19, Smith believes future sales look bright for the company. He mentioned that Clearwater has pivoted to do business in the new normal and the upcoming holiday season is helping to buoy sales.
“I think what’s fascinating is the continued strength in demand that we’re seeing in our customer order book,” said Smith.
“It does not look like the ‘lockdowns’… are the same scale and depth that they were previously.”
Clearwater recently made headlines when the company was sold for $1-billion to Premium Brands Holdings and a Mi’kmaq coalition recently.
RELATED: Clearwater Seafoods Sold For $1-Billion to Mi’kmaq Coalition And Premium Brands
During Tuesday’s conference call, Smith said the sale came out of a strategic review that began last March. The goal of the review was to find more money for the growth of Clearwater.
Smith said there were several parties interested in the sale of Clearwater, but the Premium Brands-Mi’kmaq partnership provided the best bid.
“Our company undertook what we called a strategic review process to look at options that would help inject capital into the company to fuel its future growth but also maintain the legacy of the founders,” said Smith.
“I think it’s great for the industry because this transaction is historic in value and it makes every fishing license in Canada more valuable today than it was on November 8.”
Clearwater also took a portion of the conference call to address concerns over conservation. Ever since the lobster dispute began this fall in southwestern Nova Scotia, debate has raged about the need to protect fish stock, particularly lobster.
It just so happens that Clearwater has an offshore license to fish lobster year-round in one of the districts. But Christine Penney, vice president of sustainability and public affairs for Clearwater, says they haven’t seen any reason to panic about the amount of fish in the ocean.
“All of our stocks are managed conservatively and based on DFO stock assessments,” said Penney, who added that Clearwater procures three percent of the overall lobster catch in Atlantic Canada. “Certainly, we don’t see any areas of concern around the long-term sustainability of our stocks.”
“We feel all of our stocks have a bright and sustainable future.