Due to an over 50 percent jump in cost of sales year over year, Puerto Montt, Chile-based salmon producer Multi X posted net losses of USD 6.3 million (EUR 5.8 million) for FY2023 after posting a net profit of USD 65.4 million (EUR 60.7 million) in 2022.
For the year, total company revenues reached USD 877.6 million (EUR 814.6 million), marking a 36.5 percent boost in top-line revenues over the USD 643 million (EUR 597 million) it reached 2022. However, cost of sales jumped 54.4 percent to USD 794.9 million (EUR 737.9 million) in 2023, compared to USD 518.2 million (EUR 481 million) in the previous year.
Operational earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) dropped to USD 46.6 million (EUR 43.2 million), which was less than half of the USD 94.2 million (EUR 87.4 million) posted in 2022.
The U.S. was Multi X’s strongest market, with the company sending USD 526.3 million (EUR 485.5 million) in exports to the country in 2023, representing 60 percent of the company’s total exports. That was followed by Brazil, where Multi X sent USD 94.2 million (EUR 87.4 million) of its salmon, representing 11 percent of the total. Next came the domestic market in Chile, which bought USD 79.3 million (EUR 73.6 million) of salmon, and comprised 9 percent of the market.
Rounding out the top export markets for Multi X in 2023 were China, buying USD 36.1 million (EUR 33.5 million) of salmon; Asia excluding China, which purchased USD 34.8 million (EUR 32.3 million); and Europe, buying USD 18 million (EUR 16.7 million).
In 2022, Multi X sent USD 363.2 million (EUR 337.1 million) to the U.S., representing 56 percent of total sales, and USD 91.4 million (EUR 84.8 million) to Brazil, which took up 14 percent of the total.
The company attributed the increase in sales to its principal markets to an increase in volume, tempered by lower sales prices.
The year also ended with productive harvests. In the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, Multi X said its harvest volume …