Oceanus Group, the world’s largest land-based producer of abalone, says it posted a 91% rise in net profit from operations to RMB339.3 million ($70 million) for the full-year ending Dec 31, 2009.

Although FY2009 sales of live abalone increased by 24% to 1,332 tonnes, sales rose 14% to RMB362 million from RMB319 million.

Oceanus says the prices of abalone has been generally weak in the first nine months of 2009 due to sluggish economy although they increased sharply in the fourth quarter as a result of lower supply due to the prolonged summer and severe snow in northern China.

External sales of canned marine products in 4Q increased by 150% to RMB16.9 million compared to that in 3Q due to greater demand during the Chinese New Year festival.

Contribution from Ah Yat Tian Xia restaurants was still negligible. As at Feb 24, the group has two restaurants in Singapore, one in Hong Kong and 17 in China.

The group says it plans to open its first restaurant in Taiwan in 2Q2010.

In FY2010, the group plans to collaborate with Australian suppliers to source for larger wild abalone from Australia. This will enable Oceanus to offer a wider product range to its customers on top of its Japanese species of abalone.

Oceanus is also exploring the possibility of acquiring processing/packaging capabilities outside China.