Source: Fish Information Services
Grupo Herdez has just bought a tuna vessel with a capacity to capture more than 4,000 tons of tuna per year for which USD 7.5 million was paid.
The manager of the Group’s financial planning, Andrea Amozurrutia Casillas, said that with this boat more than 90 percent of its needs will be covered and costs will be reduced.
The purchase of the tuna vessel Conquista was communicated to the Mexican Stock Exchange by KUO Group because of the strategic partnership between the two companies.
Herdez informed investors that the purchase amount was paid with their own cash.
“The start of the vessel operations is awaiting the approval from the relevant marine authorities,†said the company in a news release.
Herdez Group produces and markets over 500 products through multiple brands: Herdez, McCormick, Doña MarÃa, Carlota, Barilla, Yemina, Vesta, Buffalo and Solo Doña MarÃa, among others.
Currently, the company has 10 plants, corporate offices and 9 distribution centers located in Mexico, and employs more than 6,500 workers.
Between January and March 2011, the company reported revenues of MXN 2,136 million (USD 181.4 million), that is to say, 0.1 percent more than in the same quarter of 2010, El Universal reported.
However, Herdez sales in Mexico fell 4.9 percent and settled at MXN 1,803 million (USD 153.1 million).
Amozurrutia Casillas added that the firm faced a price increase at the end of the first quarter of this year and expects that the benefits are reflected in its report for the second quarter of 2011.