Grimsby seafood firm Kirwin Brothers Ltd remains committed to its long-term expansion plans, despite an “extremely challenging” year wiping a third of its sales out.
Turnover at the wholesale fish merchants slumped £7.5 million - 33 per cent - from 2019’s £22.8 million.
The cod and haddock specialist saw the coronavirus pandemic land in the final four months of what director Lea Kirwin described as a “difficult and unpredictable trading environment”.
Fluctuating raw material supply and prices that proved difficult to pass back to market were highlighted ahead of the lockdown that hampered traditional Easter rich-pickings for the sector that over-trades on out-of-home sales.
It led to sales dropping to a 12 year low, coming in at £15.3 million, with staff down from 100 to 87.
And “significant bad or doubtful debts” saw a £812,000 loss recorded for the North Quay business that harbours plans to move to a vacant site on Grimsby’s South Humberside Industrial Estate.
In his strategic report accompanying the results, Mr Kirwin told how the pandemic and subsequent measures to suppress it “had a dramatic impact on the company’s end-users”.
“This demand shock rippled back through the supply chain and led to a noticeable reduction in the company’s turnover,” he said of the months leading up to the company’s year end on June 30, 2020.
Mr Kirwin said: “Covid-19 restrictions, industry and economic uncertainty have continued throughout the remainder of 2020 and into early 2021, but thanks to careful and experienced management the company has continued to recover financially and to develop a high-quality supply chain and maintain relationships that have been built up in recent years.”
From a contract filleting business launched in 1983, Kirwin has become one of the larger family-owned entities operating in the UK seafood capital.
When the plans were submitted for the Estate Road One site, Mr Kirwin warned it had been put on hold as the business dealt with the impact the pandemic was having on the retail and foodservice sectors. It remains in the consenting stage.
In the report, Mr Kirwin told how the impact of Brexit was continuing to be felt with increased costs and friction in both supply chain and end delivery, but said: “The directors and management team has continued to have regard to the long-term positioning of the business within its sector and the exciting opportunity it affords. This includes regaining momentum in the expansion of operations into a larger production site.
“With early signs of Covid-19, social and economic restrictions being lifted, and the company having survived a very challenging period, the board remains confident in the recovery, sustainability and long-term prospects of the business in an ever-evolving industry.”
