Financial results of Kamchatka's major fishing company in 2006

In 2006 Kamchatka's major fishing and processing company JSC ZAO Akros and OOO Kamchatka-Vostok (ltd) exceeded the harvest of 2005 by 5142 tonnes or 9.1% from operations under own and leased quotas, reported Rybak Kamchatki.

As compared to the previous year 2005, in 2006 the company's quotas of cod, wachna cod, halibut, squid and herring were larger but the biggest increase of ca.3000 tonnes was reported for Alaska pollock quotas with the species being the firm's main fish.

At the same time, the overall profit of the company dropped by 4.1%, while the proceeds from sales of processed products decreased by 8.6%.

The company says there were several reasons behind the drops. The first reason is connected with a decrease of prices for Alaska pollock roe on the international market. Due to the price fall Akros has failed to earn dozens of million RUR. The second reason is attributed to growing transportation, fuel and other costs, which have resulted into a decrease of operating revenue. And third, the company received inshore quotas with a large delay and in the remaining period of the year the fleet failed to cover them.

Nevertheless, Akros (together with Kamchatka-Vostok) reportedly remains the largest taxpayer in Kamchatka. More specifically, in 2006 the company paid RUR602.7 million as tax disbursements, including resource fees and customs duties. The above figure exceeds the indices of the previous year and accounts for 24.7% of the gross profit. Along with resource fees, the company has reported a considerable increase of income tax, disbursements to the Pension Fund and Medical Insurance Fund.