Integrated Estonian salmonid supplier PRFoods has "terminated" its local CEO in Finland -- the group's largest market -- after a series of disappointing results have culminated in what it has described as "the most difficult year in the history of the group".

"We were attacked from three fronts," wrote group chief Indrek Kasela in the firm's annual report. "From one side, corona crises caused a situation of drastic drop in prices and demand for fish products, causing drop in gross margin and sales."

"Secondly, we entered the crisis with very high leverage due to recent acquisitions and were forced by banks to reduce aggressively our loan portfolio."

"Third, our now-ex management in [the] Finnish unit did not want and could not react to market changes, whereby we accumulated problems there with long-term effect," continued Kasela. "Dealing with all three crises simultaneously increased significantly our loss, as we were forced to take decisions that would have not happened under normal circumstances." 

During the fourth quarter of the financial year ended June 30, PRFoods posted negative earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of €1.04 million, down from the loss of €0.13m from the same quarter of 2020 [...]