Polish Fish Processor Plans Huge Expansion

POLAND – Polish fish processor Graal S.A. is on fast track to expand its revenues to some PLN 1 billion (€224.5 million) this year, an increase of 7.5 per cent compared with a year earlier, and is planning to double its sales within the next three to five years, according to senior company representatives.

“Our aim, in particular after we delisted the company from the [Warsaw] stock exchange, is to continue our dynamic growth,” Boguslaw Kowalski, the chief executive and founder of Graal, told local news site Portalspozywczy.pl.

“In the next three to five years, we want to significantly increase our sales revenues. What I have in mind is an expansion of at least 100 per cent.”

As part of its planned expansion, Graal is reportedly aiming to acquire Western European salmon aquaculture facilities with the aim to secure the supply for its fish processing facilities in Poland.

Earlier this year, Graal secured Greenwich Investments, a subsidiary of Polish investment fund Abris Capital, as its strategic investor. Commenting on the deal, the company’s chief executive said that the foreign expansion plans are the key reason behind Graal’s decision to establish a partnership with a new investor.

“A fund which, on the one hand, has the necessary capital, and, on the other, the required experience in these key areas is an optimal solution for us,” Kowalski said.

Last year, the Polish fish processor reported revenues of some PLN 930 million (€209 million).

Set up in 1990, Graal is headquartered in Wejherowo, on the Polish Baltic Sea shore. The company sells its output under the Graal, SuperFish, SuperFish Prestige, Koral, Kuchnia Staropolska (Traditional Polish Cuisine) and Gaster brands, according to data from the fish processor. Graal’s range consists of various processed salmon, trout, tuna, herring, sardine and sprat products.

Jaroslaw Adamowski - Freelance journalist based in Warsaw, Poland