THE fishing division of Bidvest Namibia, the Namibian offshoot of well known SA conglomerate Bidvest, is netting the kind of profits that might prompt questions as to whether an expansion into Cape waters may be on the cards.

Bidvest Namibia’s fishing arm (Bidfish) reported a 26% rise in turnover and a rather outstanding 65% hike in profits to R473 million in the year to end June.

This kind of performance blows away the bigger fishing groups in SA, and is testimony to Bidvest’s ability to build strong business units in a variety of specialist niches.

Whether a foray into South African waters is a consideration is not clear at this point, but the strong performance certainly sets Bidfish up as a partner of choice.

Bidvest Namibia CEO Sebulon Kankondi says a strong horse mackerel performance reflected high catch rates and firm prices.

He says the Bidfish results were underpinned by the success of the company’s long-term strategy of differentiating fish by consistently delivering high quality.

BidFish has access to more than 50% of total allowable catch for horse mackerel and also holds allowable catch for monkfish and pilchards as well as having exposure to the mariculture industry through an oyster processing operation.

In a recent presentation CEO Jan Arnold said other projects were under consideration – including setting up a structure to secure additional horse mackerel quota and increasing the exposure to white fish.