of both the chief executive officer, Imraan Soomra, and company secretary Adela Fortune.
Zwelakhe Mnguni, chief investment officer at Benguela Fund Managers, formerly an Oceana shareholder, pronounced the results “shocking”, saying they reflected a strained operational focus where management was putting out fires rather than running the business. This was partly offset by higher oil yields and significantly higher global price support for oils, which was driven by improved demand from aquafeed producers, which are building inventories to mitigate against supply chain risks.
Anthony Clark, an analyst at Smalltalkdaily Research, was somewhat more optimistic than Mnguni, saying that all fishing companies are in the same boat after a rather taxing six-month period. “Volumes landed and overall catch rates in the squid sector have taken a massive knock compared with the prior year,” she said, adding that the availability of squid had become an industry-wide challenge. Export demand for squid remains strong, with selling prices per kilogram improving and overall customer demand improving.“Operationally, everything management is doing seems to be working. Shareholders just want a stock that shows good revenue, earns profits and pays dividends,” Clark said.