Fish carrier announces big losses – Fishupdate.com

Fish carrier announces big losses Published:  02 February, 2009

EIMSKIP, one of the main carriers of chilled fish between Iceland and Britain, has announced big losses for 2008, with results in the final quarter of the year being the most serious.

However, the brighter news is that revenue is on the increase and anumber of measures being taken to reduce the debt burden should help put the company back on an even keel.

Income for the year was up at 719.9 million euros (about £635 million) compared with 680-million euros for 2007. Losses after tax in the final quarter were a massive 489 million euros, although for the full year they were less daunting at 182 million euros.

Chief executive and president Gylfi Sigfusson said the financial position was currently unacceptable, but stressed that the company was taking action to improve matters. Eimskip was hit by a 200 million euro loan guarantee it was contracted to pay after the collapse of the Iceland owned XL airline and holiday company last Septeember and other heavy losses were incurred in writing off its UK chilled and frozen refrigerated fish road transport company Innovate Holdings. He said the company was now selling its North American and European cold storage interests and the proceeds from that should go a long way towards reducing Eimskip’s debt burden.

Eimskip regularly ships fish from Iceland and the Faroe Islands to the Scotland the Humber and has extensive seafood interests in China and cold stores and frozen food logistic interests in Canada. The UK headquarters are at Immingham, near Grimsby where the fish is brought in.

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