TUNA exporter Alliance Select Foods International Inc. narrowed its consolidated net loss by 25 percent to $2.6 million (about P147.6 million) in 2023 from the $3.5 million (about P198.6 million) incurred a year earlier.

The homegrown seafood firm told the stock exchange on Monday that it continued to face headwinds last year amid the high interest rate environment and higher expenses that "climbed in tandem with inflation."

"[Alliance Select] was challenged by the increase in fish costs in 2023. This was mitigated later in the year by pricing adjustments and lower manufacturing overhead resulting from higher plant utilization," it said.

The consolidated net loss, however, was mitigated by strong revenues, which grew 63 percent year-on-year to $56.5 million (approximately P3.2 billion), mainly due to increased export volumes of tuna products and improved selling prices across all product segments.

Jeoffrey Yulo, Alliance Select president and chief executive officer, described the company's performance last year as "encouraging."

"Despite external challenges posed by high interest rates, our numbers continue to improve as we ramp up efforts to improve volume [and] revenue and gain further operational efficiencies," he added.

Alliance Select is engaged in tuna processing, canning and the export of canned tuna products to Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. It also processes by-products and scraps from its tuna processing operations.

The company's subsidiaries include Big Glory Bay Salmon and Seafood Inc., PT International Alliance Food Indonesia, and Alliance MHI Properties Inc., Securities and Exchange Commission data showed.

Alliance Select shares were unchanged at 43.5 centavos on Monday.