– The company achieved EBITDA of US$ 35.5 million, 55% higher compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The salmon segment drove this growth, with EBITDA of US$ 19.5 million in the period, explained mainly by a higher harvest volume.
Blumar, one of Chile’s leading fishing and aquaculture companies, released its financial results for March 31, 2025. During the first three months of the year, the company achieved operational revenues of US$ 209.3 million, representing a 50% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
The first quarter of the year showed significant improvement in the aquaculture segment’s performance, with an increase in billing of US$ 89.8 million, reaching US$ 144.3 million. This, combined with a significant reduction in cost of sales, enabled an important increase in EBITDA, closing the first quarter of 2025 with EBITDA of US$ 19.5 million, compared to US$ -6.1 million in the previous year.
The considerable improvement in the salmon segment drove Blumar’s results, which recorded EBITDA of US$ 35.6 million, 55% higher than in the same period of the previous year. Similarly, the company reported profits of US$ 28.0 million during the period, after recording losses of US$ -1.8 million during the same quarter of 2024, which were explained mainly by a decrease in salmon harvests due to algal bloom, among other factors.
“The company has managed to increase its revenues, after facing periods of significant challenges during fiscal year 2024; we project a year of growth in the aquaculture segment, driven by higher harvests, improved health performance and improvements in productivity,” explained Blumar’s general manager, Gerardo Balbontín. He also highlighted that they sold almost 20,000 tons wfe of salmon during the first quarter of 2025, which represents more than 12,000 tons wfe of Atlantic salmon compared to the same period of the previous year.
During the first period of the year, there is also a notable downward adjustment in production costs, explained by a significant reduction in ex-cage costs, mainly due to lower feed costs, higher harvest volume and increased productivity of the farms. This made it possible to achieve US$ 4.80/kg wfe, 11% less than the cost of the same period in 2024.
Blumar’s Farming manager, Pedro Pablo Laporte, valued that “price seasonality in the first quarter, accompanied by various measures that have been implemented before and during our transformation program, are starting to bear fruit. Particularly in the XII region, with significant growth in harvested tons and excellent health performance. We expect to maintain this productive-health performance for the rest of the year, which will help us face the challenges ahead.”
In the fishing segment, the company reported lower operational revenues, reaching US$ 64.9 million, 24% less than the same period of the previous year. This is explained mainly by lower sales of the segment’s main products, such as frozen jack mackerel, and fish oil and meal. However, there was a 10% increase in supply from artisanal fishing.
“In fishing, the main challenge has been the fractionation law and the different regulatory initiatives that have impacted legal certainty, which has prevented us from making investments and taking strategic decisions to aim for growth in the production of jack mackerel for human consumption. The effects of this poor regulation should be more visible during the rest of the year,” Gerardo Balbontín concluded.
