Tantalizers signs five-year multimillion-dollar deal to export prawns, shrimps to US buyer

Tantalizers Plc has announced a five-year offtake agreement with its subsidiary, Tantalizers Fisheries Limited, and Harvester Fisheries LLC, a seafood importer based in the United States.

Under the deal, Tantalizers Fisheries will supply minimum annual quantities of wild-caught tiger prawns and pure shrimps to Harvester Fisheries, which is headquartered in Massachusetts, over a five-year period.

In a disclosure filed with the Nigerian Exchange and signed by Company Secretary Olamide Babawale-Mo, Tantalizers described the agreement as a multi-million-dollar deal and a major step in its push into the global seafood export market.

Speaking on the partnership, Tantalizers Plc’s Group Managing Director, Robert Speijer, said:

“Our partnership with Harvester Fisheries strengthens our global supply chain and positions Nigeria as a credible source of high-quality seafood for the North American market.” 

What to know: 

Harvester Fisheries LLC is based in New Bedford, Massachusetts, one of the most active fishing ports in the United States.

• The company imports and distributes high-grade seafood to retail chains, restaurants, and institutional buyers across North America.

Tantalizers Fisheries Limited, a subsidiary of Tantalizers Plc, operates within a designated Free Trade Zone in Nigeria as a fully export-focused enterprise.

• It specializes in harvesting, trawling, processing, and exporting wild-caught shrimp and prawns in line with global quality and food safety standards.

This development comes on the back of a strong performance in the first nine months of 2025, during which Tantalizers reported a N41.1 million pretax profit, rebounding sharply from the N259.5 million loss recorded in December 2024.

Top-line performance 

Tantalizers’ improved performance in the nine-month period was driven by steady revenue and tighter cost controls.

Revenue for the period came in at N2.05 billion, slightly lower than the N2.9 billion reported in December 2024.

• Franchise-owned outlet sales contributed the largest share with N1.1 billion, followed by N945.2 million from company-owned outlets.

Net revenue stood at N913.2 million, and after accounting for cost of sales—which was reduced by 22%—gross profit settled at N310.4 million, though lower than the N425.1 million recorded in 2024.

Most of the bottom-line improvement, however, came from stronger operational efficiency.

Operational efficiency 

Beyond the top line, Tantalizers recorded other income of N159 million, a 29% increase.

This was driven mainly by:

• Franchise income: N81.5 million
• Rent income: N74.1 million
• Other income streams make up the balance

The company also made significant progress in cost management:

• Distribution costs improved dramatically from a N3.1 million loss to a N10.3 million gain.
• Administrative expenses were reduced to N539.9 million, down from N825.8 million.
• Additional support came from write-backs of N59.8 million.

These improvements helped narrow operating loss to just N189,152, a major recovery from the N189.9 million loss in December 2024.

A previous net finance cost of N69.6 million was converted into a N41.3 million gain, helping preserve bottom-line earnings for the period.

(Nairametrics)