Source: Business World

Philippine tuna exporter Alliance Tuna International, Inc. managed to meet growth targets last year on the back of higher prices and new investments overseas.

Profits of the publicly listed canned tuna manufacturer surged by more than a third to $3.21 million last year, while revenues went up by 22% to $51.6 million.

“Last year was another year when the company experienced high growth rates. The increase is attributed mainly to higher selling prices. [The] average selling price increased to $59,285 per container last year as compared to $44,366 per container in 2007,” it said.

Alliance Tuna said Europe continued to be its biggest market, accounting for 72% of sales, followed by North America which accounted for 13%. The company exports to more than 50 countries and plans to increase the number of markets to 80 in the next few years.

Earlier this year, the company said it would diversify from its core business as part of long-term growth plans, for instance transforming into a food holding conglomerate instead of remaining a tuna company.

The company bought a controlling stake in a New Zealand-based salmon processing company last January, allowing it to capture a huge market in the Oceania region.

The investment in Prime Foods New Zealand is Alliance Tuna’s first attempt to go outside the tuna business.

Last month, Alliance Tuna increased its stake in Indonesian subsidiary PT International Alliance Food Indonesia to 80% from 70%, saying that this would give the homegrown tuna processor a steady stream of profit.

Alliance Tuna also said this would its boost export operations and increase the company’s profits to $4 million this year.

Alliance Tuna started commercial operations in 2004 and is engaged primarily in tuna processing, canning, and export of canned tuna products from General Santos.

The company exports to Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and South America, and is a “private label manufacturer” of canned tuna.

Its main products are canned tuna in the institutional and retail can sizes, although Alliance Tuna also processes by-products and scraps from tuna processing operations into fishmeal, which is sold to feed millers.

Shares of the company dipped this week by 1.61% or two centavos to P1.22 per share.