Royal Greenland has emerged from 2021 with the best financial result in the company’s history – in spite of 2021 being a year blighted by the Covid-19 pandemic and a greta deal of uncertainty among buyers and consumers.
The group’s revenue grew by 16% and pre-tax profits are put at DKK326 million.
‘In early 2020, Royal Greenland made an important decision to continue fishing, purchasing, producing and selling more or less as had been originally planned, despite the challenges of the pandemic,’ said CEO Mikael Thinghuus.
‘This decision meant that the group went into 2021 with full staff levels both at sea and ashore, with healthy stocks and with well-maintained relationships with suppliers and customers around the world.’
The group also came to act as a buffer between reduced markets and a normal supply chain. This helped ensure continued activity and employment in local communities.
‘If we had significantly reduced our fishing and our production, it could have caused lasting damage to access to resources and led to significant social and economic problems for the local communities in which we operate,’ Mikael Thinghuus said.
The company reports that a significant part of the profit development is due to good markets for snow crab caught and shell-on prawns caught. At the same time, other core species such as boiled and peeled shrimp, halibut and cod have regained momentum during 2021, but are not yet on a par with before the pandemic.
The North American market in particular has been growing, but Asia and Europe have also returned to growth.
The North Atlantic core activities accounted for 84% of revenue, which is one of the aims of Royal Greenland’s new North Atlantic Champion 4.0 strategy, which was adopted by the board in 2021.
‘The strategy is based on the mission and vision that has been very successful for the past ten years, and which focuses on creating increased value of our core species through commercial initiatives and operational excellence,’ Mikael Thinghuus said.
In December 2021, Royal Greenland was also hit by a major cyber attack that left its systems worldwide shut down for an extended period.
‘Thanks to a colossal effort by staff throughout the group, it was possible to deliver the majority of sales orders and keep the supply chains running, thereby minimising operating losses,’ he said.
