HQ Sustainable Maritime Industries, Inc., a leader in toxin-free integrated aquaculture and aquatic product processing including fish byproduct, personal healthcare products, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2008. In Q4 the sales increased by 22 percent to $21.5 million, compared to $17.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. The Aquaculture Product segment accounted for $14.1 million in sales, up 23 percent from $11.5 million reported for the same period last year. Sales from the Health and Bio-product segment were $7.4 million, up 20 percent from $6.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The company said that its gross profit for the fourth quarter increased by 13 percent to $9.8 million, compared to $8.6 million for the same period of 2007. Norbert Sporns, CEO of HQ Sustainable Maritime Industries, Inc., said that in the time of recession this result is remarkable. He also told that during the year, the company has increased capacity in order to satisfy increased demand and ensure that it take advantage of potential opportunities.
For full year 2008 the sales increased 23 percent to $67.7 million, from $54.9 million in fiscal 2007. Approximately 71.5 percent of the improvement was attributed to increased sales within the ‘aquaculture product’ segment. For the year, gross profit was $28.2 million, compared to $25.5 million for fiscal 2007. The gross profit ratio for 2008 was 42 percent, down from 46 percent for fiscal 2007. Net income for the year increased to $10.0 million or $0.79 per diluted share, compared to $4.5 million, or $0.54 per diluted share in fiscal 2007, mostly due to a combination of increased gross profit in the Company’s aquaculture segment and reduced finance costs, offset by increased overhead expenses.
