Japanese seafood behemoth Nissui reported strong earnings and record-high revenue in its most recent fiscal year, crediting a sharp turnaround in its aquaculture division for the gains.
Total revenue for the Japanese giant hit JPY 768.2 trillion (€5.1 billion/$5.5 billion) in its fiscal year ended March 31, a 10.7 percent increase year-on-year and the highest in the company's more than 100-year history.
Nissui's Marine Products Division recorded sales of JPY 3.3 billion (€2.2 billion/$2.4 billion) for the year, a 14 percent increase on the year prior. Operating profits of JPY 185 billion (€1.2 billion/$1.3 billion) were up 46 percent.
Nissui credited increasing sales volumes of coho salmon as well as improved yellowtail production for this uptick, which saw an increase in operating profit of JPY 29 billion (€194 million/$204 million).
These results were bolstered by substantial cost reductions in the group's North American processing operations.
Shares in Nissui, which had been trading at JPY 587 (€3.94/$4.21) prior to the announcement on May 12 leapt to JPY 646 (€4.34/$4.64) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as of Tuesday June 6, the highest figure in almost two years, and a 20 percent increase in the past year.
The report ended on a cautionary note, warning the performance of the company's food business continued to be impacted by rising raw material costs and the depreciation of the yen.
Japan's second-largest seafood company, Nissui started as a fisheries business in 1911 but has since developed into and international conglomerate with a huge presence in processed products such as surimi, canned fish, frozen foods and omega-3 refined fish oil for the pharmaceutical industry.
Nissui's vast portfolio includes Dutch Harbor-based seafood processor UniSea, frozen seafood brand Gorton's, a stake in Alaska pollock harvester Glacier Fish Company, and seafood importer F. W. Bryce.
The company also owns Cite Marine, Nordic Seafood, Flatfish and other companies in Europe and the UK, as well as Chilean salmon farmer Salmones Antarctica, a stake in New Zealand-based Sealord and multiple Asian divisions.
It has continued to expand in recent years into several product areas and regions. In May, the company announced an investment in Australian land-based seaweed startup, Immersion Group.
