clearwater seafoods case essay

Clearwater Seafood (Clearwater) is a seafoods company situated on the east shoreline of Canada, and Clearwater Seafood salary Fund with operations around the globe. As a result of the increasing need for the Canadian dollar relative to other values of the world, Clearwater recently ended paying their very own distributions. The decision faced by financial director to determine the technique of the business should take to enable it to recuperate its syndication. This is due to the choice between different financial and operational methods to hedge currency risks that helped bring the company to its current situation Backdrop:

Clearwater begun in 1976 at Bedford, Nova Scotia as a neighborhood lobster distributer and later in 2002 gone public.

Clearwater Seafood bounty, processes, and distributes refreshing and iced fish and shellfish to market worldwide. It keeps major just offshore rights to reap clams, crab, lobster, scallops, and shrimp off the north eastern coast of Canada. Clearwater Seafoods operates a unique fleet of boats, along with off-shore and on-shore control facilities.

Foreign Exchange Risk:

Foreign exchange risk is the risk to the benefit of one’s possessions when it is respected in another forex. The exchange rate of the currency to another may be unstable. It is this kind of change in worth of the forex that gives go up to foreign exchange risk. Devaluation in the money in which the assets will be denominated can lead to a lower worth of your resources when tested in another currency compared to the period before depreciation. The majority of Clearwater’s customers happen to be international customers. In 2005, most of Clearwater’s sales were coming from overseas customers. The source with their foreign exchange risk is the repayment method which the company implements. The customers happen to be billed inside their domestic currency rather than in Canadian us dollars.

Clearwater handles customers from the US, Japan, Europe and Asia. The corporation receives payment from its international customers in their respective currency. When the Canadian money appreciates in relation to all these currencies, the money that Clearwater will get from their consumers loses value. The higher the Canadian money appreciates, the less Canadian dollars Clearwater can come to be with the ALL OF US dollars, pounds or yen thatthey acquire from their consumers. Risks linked to foreign exchange are partially mitigated by the simple fact Clearwater operates internationally, which usually reduces the impact of any kind of country specific economic hazards on their business. Clearwater also uses forward exchange contracts to deal with its money exposures.

Clearwater’s sales denominated in U. S. dollars were around 55% of annual sales as about December thirty first 2005. These types of forward contracts were such that a one-cent change in the U. T. dollar while converted to Canadian dollars could result in a $505, 000 difference in sales and gross earnings. In addition , around 19% of 2005 twelve-monthly sales were denominated in Euros. Based upon the product sales and hedges in place about December thirty-one, 2005, a one-cent enhancements made on the Pound as transformed into Canadian dollars would cause a $285, 000 change in sales and gross profit. As well, 8% of 2005 gross annual sales had been denominated in Japanese Yen. Based on 2006 annual revenue, every one twentieth of your cent change in the Yen as converted to Canadian dollars would cause a change of 118, 087, 000 in sales and gross income. It is very clear that Clearwater faces significant foreign exchange risk and the implications of an undesirable change in the currency sales can be too huge intended for the company to endure. Business risk:

Organization risk is definitely the possibility which a company may have lower than awaited profits or the company will incur a loss. Organization risk might influenced by numerous factors, including sales volume, per-unit price, insight costs, competition, and overall economic climate and government rules. Clearwater’s business depends on an ongoing supply of product that meets its quality and amount requirements. Normal water temperatures, feed in the water and the existence of potential predators all impact the level of the catch and harvesting locations are not always consistently successful from year upon year. The availability of seafood in Canadian and Argentinean oceans is also influenced by the total allowable catch allocated to Clearwater in a given location.

Although the quantités allowable catch in these areas and Clearwater’s enterprise allocations have been largely stable, fishery regulators have the right to make changes in the total allowable capture based on their assessment of the resource occasionally. Any reduction of total allowable grabs in the areas from which Clearwater sources seafoods, or the lowering of shares due to within theenvironment or the health of certain varieties, may have got a material adverse effect on Clearwater’s finances and outcomes of operations. Resource risk is maintained through faithfulness to the Office of Fisheries and Seas (DFO) plans and guidelines. The guidelines, produced by DFO, are extremely often a supportive effort between industry participants and DFO.

Clearwater minimizes the risk linked to resource supply and competition through the variation across varieties. Clearwater’s functioning costs might be negatively impacted by increases in inputs, such as energy costs, raw materials and asset prices. Clearwater uses fuel, electricity, air flow and sea freight and also other materials from the manufacturing, packaging and distribution of its products. Fuel and shipment are two significant pieces of the costs of Clearwater’s companies the syndication thereof the shortcoming of any of Clearwater’s suppliers to satisfy its requirements or maybe a material embrace the cost of these types of inputs may well have an undesirable effect on Clearwater’s financial condition and results of operations.

The seafood sector is highly competitive in all in the markets through which Clearwater participates. Some of Clearwater’s competitors convey more significant businesses within the market place, a greater diversification of product lines and greater economic assets than Clearwater and are well-established as suppliers to the market segments that Clearwater serves. Such competitors may be better able to tolerate volatility in the seafood market and through the economy all together while holding onto greater working and monetary flexibility than Clearwater. There could be no guarantee that Clearwater will be able to remain competitive successfully against its future or current competitors or that competition will not affect Clearwater’s financial condition and effects of operations. Recommendations for supervision:

Foreign Exchange Risk:

Clearwater did not entirely offset the recent foreign currency fluctuations using their hedge positions and they paid out the price for this. It is recommended that they will fully hedge all their foreign exchange positions. FPI is among the a rival in the industry who have benefited by doing so. FPI was typically unaffected by currency varying that poorly affected Clearwater. This is justified by FPI’s increase in revenue from 2003 to 2004where Clearwater got corresponding drop in sales during the same period. Also, it is recommended that Clearwater switch its short call choices to very long call choices. In its current short call position, Clearwater is the owner of the choice and does not have right to work out the option. Clearwater is dependable to meet it is obligations in case the counterparty exercises the choice at hit price.

In short, under this kind of short contact position, Clearwater does not eradicate uncertainty on currency rates, its comparable version however will. Instead of it, Clearwater ought to enter in long call alternatives to hedge its forex trading risk. They must lock in prices to buy Canadian dollars in all the foreign currencies that they can receive because payment including US us dollars, yen, european, sterling and more. If the Canadian dollar would have been to appreciate, they would exercise the phone call option at the stipulated hit price which would slice their losses of further appreciation. In case the Canadian buck were to depreciate, Clearwater might merely reduce the price paid for the option superior. Overall, Clearwater benefits from this long call position regardless whether the exchange rate appreciates or depreciates as they possess removed uncertainness in the exchange rate.

Clearwater should also shift its hedge strategies and enter into an identical receipts and payments technique. This method consists of offsetting statements and repayments. As a major part of their international exposure should be to the US dollar, it is recommended that they rearrange some of their purchasing set up with its current domestic suppliers and go for suppliers in the United States. Simply by switching to American suppliers, they will be billed in ALL OF US dollars. The dollars that Clearwater gets from its American customers may be used to pay the bills which can be denominated in US us dollars. This immediately nullifies any kind of volatility in america dollar to Canadian dollars exchange charge. Clearwater should enter into agreements with its large counterparties to get payment in Canadian us dollars. This will transfer the risk upon the different party’s head and will let matching technique to be applied.

This may not be feasible for the smaller functions that must pay back Clearwater funds. Another substitute would be intended for Clearwater to hedge all their currency positions through purchasing gold. It is often a common organization practice for many years to use rare metal or other precious metals to hedge currency positions. The company could consider keeping platinum in their portfolios to guard against economic downturns. As the seafood sector isan sector that is based mostly on foreign trade, the success of any company through this industry is going to rely on how a company handles its foreign exchange risk. Clearwater should grow its forex management program with competent financial professional who have many years of prior understanding in hedging currency positions. Operating and Business risk:

As compared to its competitors FPI and American Seafoods Group, Clearwater offers more high-value seafood goods with higher prices. It is therefore highly unlikely that the company has the ability to pass on any raises in gasoline prices for their customers, with no negative impact on their income. It is recommended that the business buys a fuel exchange to hedge against energy prices. Moreover, the company can also consider investing in a fuel call up option. If the price of fuel increases, the company will receive a return around the option that offsets all their actual expense of fuel. Regarding expanding the market, I think that Clearwater should take a look at entering the Chinese industry in the future. The increasing demand for high-value seafoods in Chinese suppliers has been fuelled by its growing middle section class.

The business could industry its seafoods products to be fresh and natural to beat the community Asian aquaculture competitors who also currently master that industry. In order to pay for the gas hedge in addition to the China marketing cost, it is advised that Clearwater sell off excessive TACs. Clearwater currently possesses the highest percentage of TACs in Canada. It is recommended that clam TACs be offered as Clearwater currently has full TAC ownership of clams with all the largest subgroup of 44, 000.

However clams simply make about 15. 6% of the business sales which in turn suggest that the money margins about clams is comparatively small in comparison to scallops or perhaps lobsters who may have sales percentage of thirty-one. 3% and 22. five per cent respectively and TAC quotas of twelve, 275 and 720 correspondingly. I believe it truly is logical to create a small sacrifice to gain money to hedge volatile gasoline cost and fund marketing costs in a new portion. Greater great is predicted at the expense of a small sacrifice. As the company currently looks difficulty in the foreign exchange market, this way of funding ignores currency rates as Clearwater will be providing their TACs to various other Canadian companies which can be paying for the TACs in the Canadian dollars.

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