Growth in the Camanchaca Fishing Division offset a small decline in the Salmon Division in the first quarter.
Photo: Camanchaca.
Camanchaca presented its Q1 2025 results report this week, reporting a slight increase in revenues, which reached USD 218 million. In the release, the company said that the growth in the Fishing Division, due to higher sales of frozen jack mackerel - up 14% -, offset a 7% decline in the Salmon Division.
This higher volume of frozen jack mackerel sold, together with lower salmon farming costs, explained the increase in EBITDA, which at the end of the quarter reached USD 41.9 million, USD 18.7 million higher - 80.6% more - than in the same period of 2024. With a contribution from the Fishing Division and the Salmon Division of USD 21 million each, while Fishing was 17% higher than Q1 2024, Salmon quadrupled the year-on-year result.
Thus, as of March 2025, the accumulated result after taxes was a profit of USD 12.5 million, almost double that recorded in the first quarter of 2024, which was USD 6.4 million. The Chilean seafood company also highlighted the debt reduction achieved in the first quarter of the year, to reach a consolidated net debt with banks of USD 151 million at the close.
According to the information provided by Camanchaca, there was a recovery of fishing activity in the north during the quarter. Total catches processed in this area were 46 thousand MT, 34% more than in March 2024. There were no industrial anchovy catches, but there were catches of jack mackerel and mackerel, which reached 25 thousand MT in Q1 2025, 5% higher than the same period last year. Purchases from artisanal fishermen reached 21 thousand MT, doubling those of Q1 2024.
In the south-central zone, jack mackerel catches in Q1 2025 were 69 thousand MT, 19% higher than in the same period of 2024. They represented 55% of Camanchaca's own annual quota. In this macro zone, 53 thousand MT of fish were also purchased from artisanal fishermen, almost triple the same period of 2024, mainly of sardine-anchovy.
All in all, the company's own and third-party pelagic catches processed in the company's plants reached 173 thousand MT, 49% higher than the 116 thousand MT of Q1 2025. Camanchaca summarized the Fishing quarter by saying that "this Division recorded favorable productive and commercial results."
In Salmon, as WeAreAquaculture reported, quarterly Atlantic salmon harvests were 27% higher than the same period in 2024, reaching 12.6 thousand WFE (Whole Fish Equivalent) tons. With prices similar to Q1 2024 - they were a 3% higher -, sales volume was 11% higher.
In the case of Coho salmon, there were no harvests in the quarter, but there were sales. Due to the reduction in the stockings of this species, which went from 3 to 1 site in the 2024-25 season, Coho sales fell by 73% compared to the same period of the previous year, although in this case, its price improved by 2%, reaching USD 5.78/Kg WFE.
In addition, Camanchaca noted that, reflecting the good sanitary situation of the harvested sites, the recovery of average weights and the drop in feed costs, salmon farming costs in Q1 2025 fell by 14% to USD 4.51/kg WFE.
Finally, in Farming, a negative EBITDA of USD 0.9 million was recorded. According to the company's release, this drop is explained by the extraordinary costs associated with the end of abalone farming, since the mussel business had a positive EBITDA of USD 1 million.
"The recovery in results is a reflection of our efforts to be more efficient and make good use of our aquaculture concessions and fishing licenses, processes that have been underway for some time now, reducing our indebtedness to be more competitive and less vulnerable to the risks we face," said Camanchaca's General Manager, Ricardo García Holtz, commenting on the results.
However, as he did when commenting on the results of Salmones Camanchaca - where he is Vice-President - García Holtz was cautious given the challenges facing the company, such as the new regulations still being discussed in Chile or the omnipresent U.S. tariffs.
"We are cautious about the development of the second half of the year, due to the evident regulatory risks in Chile, to which have been added commercial risks in international markets," he now said. Specifically concerning the discussion of the Fishing Law in Chile, Camanchaca's executive mentioned that they are waiting to know the final result of the law to evaluate the measures that the company will take.
Nevertheless, García Holtz reinforced the responsibility of the Chilean seafood company to defend its interests in the appropriate judicial venues, since, he said, the seizures require the defense of the interests of thousands of Chileans who have invested their funds in Camanchaca.