Sealord surplus 'salt in wound'

Nelson-based fishing heavyweight Sealord Group has reported a 475 per cent jump in net surplus for the last financial year just days after announcing it will lay off 100 processing staff.

The revelation has angered Service and Food Workers Union southern regional secretary Campbell Duignan, who today labelled it "salt in the wound".

The union had formally requested to go into mediation with the company but was still awaiting a response.

"Considerations around the employment of workers are entirely secondary to them maximising their profits," Mr Duignan said.

"It's part of the reason why they've been shy about releasing any further information to us, despite numerous requests."

Mr Duignan said staff facing redundancy would be "bloody angry" when they learned of the results.

"They're going to be saying, 'this company's making really good money but we're still getting sacked'."

Figures provided to the Companies Office show Sealord, New Zealand's biggest fishing company, increased its total sales by $3 million in the year ending June 30, 2004, to $633 million.

The company's net surplus rose from $6.87 million to $32.65 million, a 475 per cent increase.

Sealord pumps an estimated $80 million to $100 million into the Nelson regional economy each year.

Last week the company announced it will lay off 100 Dunedin workers as part of a major restructuring of its shore-based processing operations.

The move, a response to a dramatic cut in the national hoki quota, will see 20 Nelson processing jobs created.

Sealord chief executive Doug McKay declined to discuss the financial figures in detail, saying only that it was a "good result".

He said Sealord was a private company and only disclosed the minimum financial information required by law.

He would not respond to the union's criticisms, except to say "I'm not conducting these discussions with the union or employees in the media".

The industry has been hit by a high kiwi dollar, but Mr McKay said Sealord was well protected by currency hedging until the end of the current financial year.

He described the ongoing financial conditions as "tough".

In 2004, the company paid $16 million in dividends to its owners.

Sealord is half owned by Japanese firm Nippon Suisan Kaisha, with the other half belonging to Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd, who manage the Treaty of Waitangi fisheries settlement on behalf of Maori.

Quota and fishing rights were valued at $294.5 million for the year, almost unchanged on 2003.

- NZPA