In addition, by the end of 2013, all of the uncertified sources that we work with must have undergone an independent evaluation, and enter a third-party assessment program such as MSC, GAA’s BAP program, or the ASC. Also, all sources undergoing improvements will be required by us to report an improvement work plan and milestones to be achieved. 

2011 was year two of that plan and our focus was on increasing the amount of raw material that comes from certified sources, reducing energy and packaging, and satisfying the demands of our key customers. 

Readers who are interested in learning more about sustainability at High Liner are encouraged to visit our sustainability website at http://www.highlinersustainability. com/en/index.htm, which does not form part of this MD&A. 

## Strategic Goals for 2012 1 

Our business is selling seafood to North Americans. Food is a staple and, as such, demand for our products remains relatively stable during good times and bad. We strive to effectively manage our business and to continue to report increased sales and earnings. Our recent success in acquiring the former Icelandic USA operations was important, given the competitive bidding process, and our focus now turns toward the successful execution of our integration strategy to realize any potential synergies going forward. With the combination of efforts in many key areas across our business, we hope to achieve 1  a number of corporate, operational, and financial milestones over the next few years. 

Our Corporate Strategic Goals for 2012 1  are: 

## PROFITAbLE GROWTH 

We want to grow our business to achieve $100 million in EBITDA by 2015. We will achieve this goal by: 

a) Completing the integration of Icelandic USA into our U.S. operations in 2012. These assets earned pro forma Adjusted EBITDA of approximately US$29 million in 2011, after taking into account the full year of savings from the investment in a new cold storage facility at the Newport News, VA plant that opened in 2011. The integration will allow us to realize expected significant near-term synergies of US$12.1 million and total ongoing annual synergies to be in the range of US$16-$18 million. Part of the integration plan will involve the transition to operate our entire business on one systems platform with a focus to continually improve our efficiency and communication as an organization. 

b) Organic growth. Our 2012 business plan anticipates sales volume increases, excluding the Icelandic USA Acquisition. Organic growth will be achieved by effective execution of our business plan: we will use our scale to improve procurement of seafood as well as other inputs; we will continue launching successful products across all sales channels and customers such as chain accounts, clubs, and 

ingredients, including the recently launched equivalent in Canada to FireRoasters , known as Flame Savours ; and we also plan to develop and implement a leadership position in new species. 

## SuSTAInAbILITy 

Continuation of our three-year plan to source all of our seafood from certifiable or sustainable or responsible fisheries and aquaculture farms by the end of 2013. In particular, in 2012 we want to: 

– Support the Russian Pollock Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification process 

– Take a leadership role in the Russian salmon MSC process 

– Develop a plan for Russian Pacific cod MSC certification 

– Support the certification of the balance of the Barents Sea cod & haddock 

## SySTEMS IMPROVEMEnTS 

Our focus in this area for the next few years will be on upgrading our Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems. In 2012, we will implement a new Global Specification Management system acquired from Oracle to ensure that we have the best systems available to keep track of our over 2,000 products. We recognize that we are a customer-centric organization and that developing differentiated, innovative products is our strength. We also know that our supply chain is long, both in terms of time from when an order is placed for goods to when the finished product is delivered to our customer, and in terms of the distance that the product travels. Therefore, our ability to track this information is very important to us. Historically, we have done this very well, but our processes can be more efficient. This advanced system will allow us to improve food safety and traceability, and will also provide a more efficient and productive approach for us to maintain product data, making the administration of current product codes more efficient and accurate, as well as reducing our overall new product introduction costs. Continuing investments in PLM systems in 2013 will also help us identify and determine what product development projects would be the best use of Company resources, as well as improve our ability and efficiency in collecting, re-using, and auditing product food safety data. 

## Financial Objectives 

Our strategy was designed with the expectation 1  to increase shareholder value. To help us maintain a focus on meeting investor expectations, we have chosen four key financial measures to gauge our performance. We have set these measures based on the performance achieved by comparable food companies in North America. 

