Aker BioMarine had a total krill production of 20,091 MT in Q2 2024, an increase of 13% YoY.
Photo: Aker BioMarine.
Aker BioMarine announced its Q2 2024 results. Between April and June, the company's total revenues were USD 94 million (EUR 86.1 million), an increase of 6% year-on-year (YoY). Adjusted EBITDA for the period was USD 29 million (EUR 26.5 million), an increase of 35% YoY.
The krill company, which announced the sale of its Feed Ingredients business earlier this month, explained that this will be the last quarter in which this segment is included in its results and, therefore, it also provided financial results figures excluding this division.
The financial results of the continued operations - Human Health Ingredients (HHI) and Consumer Health Products (CHP) - reached revenues of USD 49.2 million (EUR 45 million), this is an increase of 4% YoY, while adjusted EBITDA in this case decreased by 21% YoY to USD 6.7 million (EUR 6.1 million).
In Q2 2024, the Feed Ingredients division performed well, with higher revenues - revenue growth was 25% YoY - and improved underlying margins compared to last year. This increase was driven by price growth in Qrill Aqua and a higher proportion of high-margin products such as Qrill Pet and Nutra.
Offshore krill production was also strong, with production for the quarter up 13% YoY and for the year up 10% YoY. In total, it reached 20,091 MT of krill. As mentioned, as of the second quarter of 2024, this segment will cease to be part of the company.
When Aker BioMarine announced the sale of its Feed Ingredients division, it said it was for an enterprise value of USD 590 million (EUR 546.5 million). The buyer will be 'Aker BioMarine Antarctic Holding II AS', a newly established company owned 60% by American Industrial Partners (AIP) and 40% by Aker Capital - another of Norwegian Kjell Inge Rokke's Aker Group companies, to which Aker BioMarine also belongs.
Until now, in addition to being the world's leading krill supplier, the company consisted of two business segments, Ingredients and Brands. The Ingredients segment comprised offshore harvesting and production, logistics operations, and onshore manufacturing and sales of krill products. The Brands segment for its part was the human consumer goods business.
Now, it will be a company focused on human health and nutrition and will consist of three business units: Human Health Ingredients, Consumer Health Ingredients, and Emerging Businesses. "Following the Feed Ingredients transaction, Aker BioMarine will focus on human nutrition, particularly the large and growing Omega-3 market," said CEO Matts Johansen in the Q2 2024 earnings release.
"We aim to grow by increasing our market share and expanding our product categories through innovation. In parallel, we will continue to explore how we can drive shareholder value by enabling potential partnerships and transactions for each of the remaining business units," he added.
Thus, the Norwegian krill harvester and processor has already used the new terminology to report second-quarter results, which were uneven in the Human Health Ingredients and Consumer Health Products divisions.
The HHI division had solid revenue growth of 22%, with revenue from krill oil equivalent products increasing by 7% YoY. According to the company, this revenue increase was due to continued strong development in most regions. "Margins for the quarter were impacted by customer mix in Superba and a high share of lower-margin products such as PL+, Algae Oil, and QHP," the note read.
Meanwhile, the CHP division delivered lower revenues with a stable gross margin, resulting in lower EBITDA on a relatively flat SG&A basis. During the first half of 2024, sales of Lang products out of store at retailers (POS) increased by 7% YoY, while Lang's revenue declined. "This indicates that retailers have been reducing inventory levels, while the underlying market for our private label products remains strong," Aker BioMarine explained.
