Devi Sea Foods (DSF) is contemplating the possibility of floating an initial public offering (IPO) to raise Rs 1,000 crore (approximately US $156 million) this year, according to a report published by liveMint, an online e-paper that specializes in the coverage of business news in India.
The Visakhapatnam, Andra Pradesh-based company is ranked as the largest exporter of frozen shrimp from India to the USA, a market that accounts for approximately 90% of its sales volume. Business has been growing at a rate of between 16% and 20% during the last several years, according to liveMint.
Established in 1992, Devi Sea Foods generated receipts of almost $158 million in 2017. The vertically integrated enterprise is capable of processing 15 tons of value-added frozen shrimp per day at several packing plants in Tanuku and Ongole, Andhra Pradesh. They are supplied with raw material by company-owned shrimp farms and hatcheries in the region.
Two years ago DSF ventured into the production of shrimp feed by investing almost $8 million to build a 40,000-metric-ton capacity plant near Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. It aims to expand output to 100,000 metric tons in 2019.
Among Devi Sea Foods’ brands are Volga Classic, Sindhu Classic and Morning Harvest. Its biggest customer is Houston, Texas-headquartered Sysco Corporation, which is the world’s largest foodservice distribution company with a global supply chain spanning 40 countries. According to a report in Forbes India, Sysco accounts for 70% of DSF’s business, buying 20 million pounds of frozen shrimp worth approximately $100 million per annum.
