Clearwater Seafood co-owner Premium Brands announced Thursday it acquired a Canadian processor, distributor and marketer of lobster.
New Brunswick-based Westmorland Fisheries Ltd. is just the latest in the company's run of deals in the seafood sector, which kicked into high gear in January with the 50 percent purchase of Clearwater in January.
Premium also completed the acquisition of Maid-Rite Specialty Foods, a Pennsylvania-based food manufacturer.
The company saw a major spike in its third-quarter earnings and revenue, both from the new purchases and in organic expansion, reporting record sales and cash flow for its seafood operations.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter rose by 31.1 percent, to CAD 122.6 million (€85.4 million/$98.7 million).
The group's revenue, meanwhile, rose 21.9 percent over last year to CAD 1.3 billion (€905.3 million/$1 billion).
Clearwater booms
Clearwater Seafood's earnings growth was even more striking. The Canadian shellfish harvesting and processing group grew its earnings by over 57 percent in the quarter, posting an EBITDA of CAD 40.1 million* (€27.9 million/$32.1 million). Revenue rose 18.8 percent to CAD 158.4 million (€110.3 million/$127.5 million).
The seafood platform grew its sales in the quarter by 77 percent, while generating organic growth of 32 percent.
"We are very pleased with how our seafood strategies are unfolding and how we are positioned in this very exciting segment of the food industry, which is benefiting from a number of long-term sustainable consumer trends," said Paleologou.
"Our investments in product innovation, industry leading management teams and best-in-class operating assets, combined with our targeted acquisitions strategy, have positioned us well to be a global leader in seafood."
Much of the group's primary markets have returned to normal, Premium said, but it still is impacted by issues in the airline, cruise line and some foodservice segments.
George Paleologou, CEO of Premium Brands, praised the results, particularly during a "barrage of widespread challenges including significant cost inflation, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages."
Paleologou highlighted the group's seafood operations, noting that the group is pleased with "how we are positioned in this very exciting segment of the food industry, which is benefiting from a number of long-term sustainable consumer trends."
"Our investments in product innovation, industry leading management teams and best-in-class operating assets, combined with our targeted acquisitions strategy, have positioned us well to be a global leader in seafood," he said.
Premium Brands has a target of of achieving CAD 6 billion (€4.2 billion/$4.8 billion) in sales and CAD 600 million (€417.8 million/$482.8 million) in EBITDA by 2023.
*(Editor's note: An earlier version of this article contained an incorrect EBITDA figure.)
