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New Zealand King Salmon Market Announcement February 24 , 2021 NEW ZEALAND KING SALMON ANNOUNCES 1H21 RESULT New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd ( NZX & ASX : NZK ) reports its financial performance for the six month period ended 31 December 2020 ( 1H21 ) . Key points include : • • Covid - 19 disruptions to both domestic and export markets have impacted profitability . Mitigation strategies include a global rebalancing of sales towards retail and the prioritisation of premium customer opportunities . Clearing excess inventory with retail price promotions and selective foodservice sales impacted margins but did improve cashflow . • Average price achieved of $ 23.90 / kg , slightly down from $ 24.46 / kg in 1H20 . • • • • Revenue of $ 82.4m , down from $ 84.2m in 1H20 , reflecting lower average pricing . Sales volume of 3,441 tonnes was equal to 1H20 . Pro Forma Operating EBITDA of $ 10.5m , compared with $ 16.5m in 1H20 . Statutory NPAT of ( $ 4.3m ) , down from $ 20.8m in 1H20 . No interim dividend is declared . Chairman John Ryder said : “ Despite a challenging year with the Covid - 19 pandemic still affecting our business , sales volumes in the six months were almost identical to the previous year . This result is encouraging considering the ongoing restrictions on foodservice , particularly in the US and Europe . " Re - establishing our global sales incurred higher costs with expensive air freight being a significant factor . " In the US , it's excellent to see our Ōra King salmon now being sold via new channels , including speciality seafood online , and an increased retail presence for our Regal smoked salmon . In addition to premium branded sales recovering , we believe we have sufficient indications of positive demand to ensure clearance of all surplus fish by around mid CY21 . " New Zealand King Salmon CEO Grant Rosewarne acknowledged it had been a tough period following the continued impact of the lockdown but anticipates that sales demand will again be greater than the company's ability to supply later in the year . " Necessary changes to our sales strategies have impacted profitability and this has increased our determination to build resilience through channel , category and geographic diversity . Core sales have recovered better than expected - now we need to rebuild value . " We have already paved the way for incremental demand by keeping our premium brands prominent in the mind of the consumer . In New Zealand , for example , we have chosen to promote our new Regal Maple range to encourage trial , grow the market and build Regal brand awareness . Customers around the world are still eager for our King salmon products which fit well into the growing global demand for healthy and safe food products . " We continue to evolve our aquaculture model with upwelling being used on the farms where we have seen warmer water temperatures , particularly on lower flow sites .