Salmones Camanchaca - Q1 2022 results

Highlights:

o	Harvest volume of Atlantic salmon in Q1 2021 was 8,108 MT WFE, down 11.5% from
Q1 2021, as one sites with low oxygen levels forced early harvesting resulting
in total average harvest weight of 4.2 kg

o	Atlantic market prices at record high levels during the quarter, up 34%
year-over-year. Sales volume fell 12.4% to 10,566 MT WFE 

o	The cost of Atlantic salmon harvested was up 11% to USD 4.36/ kg, driven by
early harvests due to low oxygen level events, and harvest from fish exposed to
2021 Comau algae bloom

o	Processing costs including harvesting were USD 1.29/kg WFE, above long-term
target of 
USD 1/kg, due to lower processing volumes and lower average harvest weight

o	Quarterly EBITDA at USD 3.7 million, compared to negative USD 7.4 million Q1
2021

o	Cash balance of USD 29.4 million and net interest-bearing debt at USD 114.7
million at quarter end. The Company has total liquidity including available
credit facilities of USD 39 million.

o	Estimated harvest volumes for 2022 remain between 51,000 and 54,000 MT WFE,
comprising 45,000-47,000 MT WFE of Atlantic salmon and 6,000-7,000 MT WFE of
Coho salmon


Operating revenue amounted to USD 80.9 million during the quarter, up 16% from
USD 69.6 million in the corresponding period in 2021. Lower sales volumes and
reduced average weight, was offset by a 34% increase in prices.

Total cost ended at USD 5.97/kg during the quarter, compared with USD 5.40 in
the corresponding period last year and USD 5.13/kg in Q4 2021. The higher
ex-cage cost is due to early harvest of fish exposed to incidents of low oxygen
levels, in addition to overall cost inflationary pressure, including feed,
logistics and other input factors. Processing costs are impacted by lower
volumes. Going forward, operational costs are expected to improve as volumes
increase and carried cost from earlier biological incidents come down.

EBITDA for the quarter was USD 3.7 million, compared with negative USD 7.4
million in Q1 2021. Operational EBIT before fair value adjustments ended at
negative USD 0.4 million, up from negative USD 11.4 million in Q1 2021. The
improvement is attributable to higher prices. 

 
Commenting on the performance of Salmones Camanchaca, vice chairman Ricardo
García, said:

"Salmon demand in the world remains strong and consumers have added more salmon
to their weekly diet, which has favored their prices and offset important
increases that we have seen in product cost components. In these months, we have
met the world's great buyers, at the Boston and Barcelona fairs, confirming the
great interest that exists in Chilean salmon, due to its high nutritional value,
its quality, and because it is more sustainable than the vast majority of other
proteins.

Farming conditions this year have been better than in 2021, and as of March the
weather has been more benign for salmon farming, which was reflected in lower
mortalities and better feed conversions. However, we detected low oxygen levels
in several places, especially in the Los Lagos region, which reduced the fish
growth, lowered their average harvest weight and made final product more
expensive. This is a situation we are closely monitoring.

At the end of the quarter, we left behind the unfavorable algae events of the
first part of 2021, and recovered results, but still far from what the next two
quarters should be".


Salmones Camanchaca will present the quarterly results on Thursday, 12 May 2022
at 15:00 Central European Summer Time (CEST).

The presentation will be held on-line by Vice Chairman Ricardo García and CEO
Manuel Arrigada. 

To join the webcast, use the following link:
https://ubiqq.com/camanchaca/live

The presentation and subsequent Q&A session will be held in English. It will be
possible to ask questions online.

For more information please contact:
Marta Rojo, Head of IR, marta.rojo@camanchaca.cl 
Álvaro Marín, IR Assistant Manager, alvaro.marin@camanchaca.cl

 
About Salmones Camanchaca 
Salmones Camanchaca S.A. is a vertically integrated salmon producer engaged in
breeding, egg production, recirculating hatcheries for Atlantic salmon and
pass-through or lake hatcheries for Coho salmon and trout, fish farming sites in
estuary, fjord and oceanic waters used mainly for Atlantic salmon, primary and
secondary processing, and marketing and sales of Atlantic and Coho salmon
through five sales offices in its main markets. 

The production target for both 2022 and 2023 is in the range of 50-55,000 MT
WFE. The total production capacity for both Atlantic and Coho salmon is
65,000-70,000 MT WFE, which the Company expects to reach within three years.
Salmones Camanchaca participates in trout farming through a one third share of a
joint venture, which uses Salmones Camanchaca farming sites in coastal-estuarine
waters, and currently plans to harvest an average of 9,000 MT WFE per year until
2028. 

Salmones Camanchaca has 1,900 employees on average, 60% of whom work in its
value-added plant. Atlantic salmon target markets are led by the USA, Mexico and
Japan.


This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU
Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant
to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This stock exchange
release was published by Álvaro Marín, IR Assistant Manager, Salmones Camanchaca
on 11 May 2022 at 23:00 CEST.