Summer oysters trial tipped to increase Angel Seafood sales by 15%

Seafood-loving Australians could soon have access to a wider range of oysters year-round with Angel Seafood (ASX: AS1) set to commence a farming trial of summer oysters which, if successful, would enable them to deliver oysters throughout the calendar year.

The trials are part of Angel Seafood’s recently announced 3-pillar growth strategy to double their production capacity by capitalising on their resources and equipment to improve profitability.

By commencing the trial, it would give Angel a product for sale at time which is traditionally a spawning season for oysters, but also a peak period for demand.

“With demand for Angel oysters continuing to increase, this is an exciting next step for Angel as we continue to look at ways to grow capacity and increase profitability,” said Angel Seafood CEO and Founder, Zax Halman.

“The summer oysters trial means we can potentially supply one of the most celebrated products through the peak demand period.

“Being able to supply oysters to the retail market year-round will allow us to further cement our relationships in this channel, growing Angel’s reputation to guarantee supply of high-quality, organic oysters.”

The low-cost initiative will take place over the next 15 months with Angel to farm this trial on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The first batch would be ready for sale around January 2022 and will be classified as an organically grown premium product.

By being able to supply oysters to the market year-round, Angel forecasts an increase to the sales by 10-15% annually and will utilise their recently leased water acquisitions that are expected to increase Angel’s production by 20% to more than 10 million oysters per annum.

For the Quarter ending 30 September 2020, Angel Seafood sold a record 2.7 million oysters for $2m in revenue, a 78% increase on the previous corresponding period, to deliver $408k positive cash flow.