Sealord hooks more sales

NELSON - Sales for New Zealand's biggest fishing company, Sealord, climbed to $540 million in its latest financial year, up from $500 million.

The company's operating profitability was 40 per cent ahead of the previous year, chief executive Phil Lough said.

The improvement in sales came from growth across the board. A Dunedin factory, which quick-freezes fillets, added $4.5 million a year to revenues over the past two years. It could potentially add $8 million.

Sealord grew its international fishing operations in the Southern Hemisphere, and its business out of Iceland, supplying chilled fish to England.

The hoki season was going well, Mr Lough said, with record processing at the Nelson factory. Hoki products make up 30 per cent of sales.

The figures come as Brierley Investments is trying to sell its half-share in Sealord. The other half is owned by the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission.

- NZPA