Growth
Vigo’s Worldwide Fishing Company (Wofco) is expanding its footprint in the global seafood market. Through strategic acquisitions and targeted investments, the firm is strengthening its position in key industry metrics and elevating young talent into senior roles within the sector. Although the company traces its roots to 2016, its growth trajectory shows no signs of slowing. Management projects sustained double-digit sales growth that could push annual revenues toward the 500 million euro mark by year’s end. The strategy focuses on marketing, sourcing efficiency, and targeted segment investments, while shipbuilding remains a separate journey that began with the company’s first liquidation and the sale of its inaugural unit in 2014, an episode many still recall as the voyage’s start. Matilda stands as the reference point for that milestone.
The Faro de Vigo, a publication from Prensa Ibérica, reported that Wofco was led by Borja Tenorio and Alberto Barreiro and that it sold a 47-meter longliner that had arrived from Greenland. The vessel, once named Anita, is now listed under the name Helena Ndume and flies the Namibian flag, replacing the Belize flag. The change signals a strategic exit from the Belize registry and aligns with plans to relocate the unit after it docked at the Frigoríficos del Morrazo pier.
Industry insights indicate that Pesquera Vaqueiro, Wofco’s owner of several other vessels such as Argeles, which sails under the French flag in Gran Sol waters, is also overseeing ships that fly the Russian flag on routes near Severnaya Zemlya and Novaya Zemlya. The acquisition of Anita, later renovated in Nodosa to be renamed Matilda, marked Wofco’s first step into ship ownership. The company continues to list Matilda on its official site, alongside its subsequent purchase, the tuna boat Aleksha.
Beyond ship ownership, Wofco is accelerating diversification across other segments of the fishing industry. Recent moves show an emphasis on value creation through equity investments, including acquiring a 45 percent stake in Conarpesa Argentina in the Rande region and the assets of a defunct company. These steps illustrate a broader strategy to build downstream capabilities and expand geographic reach while maintaining core harvesting operations.
The results of these strategic shifts are starting to appear in financial and market data. In a report shared with Undercurrent News, the company noted a strong 2020 performance with revenues of 330.6 million euros, a leap of 42 percent year over year. Management indicated expectations to finish the year with revenue near 500 million euros, which would place Wofco in fourth position among leading industry players, just behind rivals emerging in the contemporary ranking and alongside notable peers in the sector. Company representatives added that the first half of the current year reaffirmed their projections, underscoring confidence in the growth path and the effectiveness of the newly pursued investment strategy according to Undercurrent News.