In addition to EBITDA, Nueva Pescanova's sales also increased, while losses were reduced by EUR 93 million.
Photo: Nueva Pescanova.
Nueva Pescanova Group announced this week that, after changing the accounting period of the fiscal year to make it coincide with the calendar year, from April to December 2024, it obtained an EBITDA of EUR 40.1 million, a figure four times higher than that obtained in the previous fiscal year, which was EUR 9.80 million. In other words, in only 9 months compared to 12 in the previous year - from April 2023 to March 2024 - the Spanish group's EBITDA increased by 309%.
These EUR 40.1 million, moreover, exceed the forecast made by the company's management, which in its previous report, published in September 2024, was estimated to reach EUR 37.5 million at the end of the year. Now, the Spanish company has made a new forecast: it expects EBITDA to grow by more than 50% in 2025, which would put it on the path to a positive net result.
Nueva Pescanova explained that the improvement in results is mainly due to the measures implemented by the new management team, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Jorge Escudero, who arrived at the company in September 2023 after the resignation of the former CEO, Ignacio González, and the failure to reach an agreement to sell the company to Cooke.
The same month his appointment was announced, the Group also announced the layoff of a hundred employees from its central services. This marked the beginning of a series of measures that, the company said, are focused on increasing the profitability of all operations, cost containment, renewal of the commercial strategy to focus on higher-value operations, boosting efficiency throughout the value chain, organizational changes, and the constant effort and commitment of all employees.
According to the release now published, all these actions have, in turn, led to a significant reduction in the Group's losses. Specifically, from April to December 2024, losses fell from EUR 131 million in the previous year to EUR 38 million. This represents a reduction of EUR 93 million.
Sales also grew, with a result of EUR 770 million from April to December 2024. Given that, due to the above-mentioned change in the accounting period, this fiscal year includes only 9 months, the company noted that, on a comparable basis, sales would have reached EUR 982 million in a calendar year, compared with EUR 970 million in the previous year.
Beyond the figures, Nueva Pescanova also highlighted that, despite the contraction of the sector, in fiscal year 2024 the Group continued to invest in the brand, which has allowed it to maintain its level of notoriety and leadership, consolidating its position as the main reference for seafood products among consumers in Spain, according to data from the multinational market research and consultancy firm Ipsos.
During the past year, the Group continued to invest in R&D&I. Thus, the Spanish company developed new nutritious, healthy and sustainable products in different categories, from natural fish to cephalopods, seafood, surimi, and ready-to-cook/ready-to-eat preparations.
In this section, the company has also participated in different projects for the valorization of food by-products - such as the Life Refish and Valorish initiatives -, for the optimization of quality control - Smart4SeaFood -, or for the improvement of sustainability in aquaculture - the European Innoaqua project -, among others.
Finally, the Galicia-headquartered company highlighted that, in the area of sustainability, it has advanced in its commitment to ensure best practices, following its strategy aligned with the UN Agenda 2030. As an example of this, it was recognized as the first fishing company, and the second in the seafood sector globally, that most contributes to a sustainable and responsible industry, according to the latest Seafood Stewardship Index.
Powered by the non-profit organization World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), which measures the contribution of the 30 most influential companies in the seafood sector towards a more sustainable future, Nueva Pescanova is the only Spanish company in this ranking.
