Company Reports & Accounts
By Roger Dean
AB Agri Ltd Companies House has recently released the Annual Report and Accounts for AB Agri Ltd for the 52-week period ending 16 September 2017.
The company reported revenues of £854.93 million, a figure which it
described as ‘well ahead’, up 9.8 per cent, on the previous year’s figure of £778.92 million. The company reported that its ‘extensive experience across the farming industry, combined with the greater availability of on-farm data and the use of propriety technology are being leveraged to provide greater insight into on-farm management’. This was being aimed at assisting farmers to increase productivity as well as improving animal nutrition. Gross profitability – turnover less cost of sales – at £109.95 million
was £3.38 million less than in the previous year, resulting in a decline of AB Agri’s Gross Margin from 14.5 per cent in the previous year to 12.9 per cent; however, this was still the third largest Gross Margin since AB Agri’s 2009 results. Operating profits fell from £18.87 million in the year to September 2016 to £11.56 million in September 2017, largely as the result of a sharp increase in administrative expenses; this resulted in AB Agri’s operating profit ratio falling from 2.4 per cent on the previous accounting period to 1.1 per cent in the 2017 accounting year. Pre-tax profits were also lower in consequence; at £11.44 million, they were down by £13.14 million, resulting in the pre-tax profit ratio falling from 3.2 per cent in the prior accounting year to 1.3 per cent in the year to September 2017.
W.& H. Marriage & Sons Ltd The Annual Report and Accounts for W & H Marriage and Sons Ltd covering the 52-week period ending 29 April 2017, were released on 26 January. The company’s activities are described as Grain Milling (SIC 10611) and the Manufacture of Prepared Feeds for Farm Animals (SIC 10910). At £42.56 million, total revenues were down by £3.32 million or
7.2 per cent. This reflected a fall in the turnover of the parent company and Marriages Specialist Foods Ltd, reflecting ‘a strategic decision to transition sales away from commodity style business enabling the focus to be on sectors of the market where the emphasis is on the quality of the products’. The Board went on to note that ‘the anticipated margin improvements from this shift in strategy did not materialise as hoped, due to increases in raw material prices’. Partially as a result of the foregoing, Marriages Gross Margin contracted by £1.39 million or 9.7 per cent. Marriages reduced distribution costs during the year in question
although administrative expenses rose. Other operating income of £354,000 partially reflected the successful outcome of a legal action by Marriages Specialist Foods for breach of contract. However, operating
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profit declined by 611,000 or almost three-quarters and Profit before Tax from £710,000 to £70,000, down by 89.1 per cent, a pre-tax profit ratio of 0.2 per cent compared to the previous accounting year’s pre-tax profit ratio of 1.5 per cent.
NWF First Half-Year The NWF Group has recently reported its half-year results for the six months ending 30 November 2017. These include results for NWF Agriculture, the Group’s feed manufacturer and distributor. Revenues increased by 19.5 per cent to £77.8 million compared with
£65.1 million in the equivalent period of the preceding year. NWF reported this as being the result of ‘higher commodity prices and increased sales of traded products in the period’. NWF Agriculture’s headline operating profit was £0.4 million, compared to a £0.3 million loss for the same period last year; this was due to ‘, due to our improved operational efficiency’. Volumes were 1.0 per cent lower – at 265,000 tonnes compared with the preceding year’s volume of 268,000 tonnes – this reflected the business focusing on ‘those customers within an efficient range from our key operational locations’. Market conditions were good, with milk prices increasing to more sustainable levels, improving farm incomes and confidence in the dairy sector. Feed demand also increased, particularly by farmers who had reacted to lower milk price in the prior year by cutting feed rates. NWF Agriculture also noted that overall commodity input costs were more stable during the first half of their accounting year, despite volatility caused by movements in exchange rates, albeit they increased towards the period under review. NWF Agriculture is believed to feed one out of every six dairy
cows in Britain.
Elsham Linc Ltd Companies House published the annual Report and Accounts for this company, made up to 31 March 2017, on 21 December. The principal activities of this company are the raising of pigs (SIC 01460) and the manufacture of prepared feeds for farm animals (SIC 10910). The company reported revenues in the year to 31 March 2017
of £21,685,056, 13.7 per cent more than in the previous accounting period. The company produces pig meat for a number of processors in the UK. The pig industry is, the company reports, ‘volatile’ and the company’s performance is dependent upon its cost of production per kilo of pig meat. It will come as no surprise to readers to hear that ‘feed costs are a key element and continued low grain prices have enabled the company to keep the cost of production consistent with the prior year’. The company reports that it recorded a profit for the year due to the increased sale price for its product. Gross margins for the year rose sharply, from £1,186,000 in the
preceding account year to £3,044,085 in the account year, an increase of 156.6 per cent and giving a Gross Margin of 14 per cent, the highest recorded in seven years. Operating profits, which in the preceding year were firmly in the red to the tune of more than £98,000, staged a marked recovery to £1.44 million. The pre-tax loss of £4,143 during the 2016 accounting year was converted into a pre-tax profit of £1.6 million. Prospects for the 2018 accounting year looked promising with the rise in finished pig prices ‘continuing post year end’.
Comment section is sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd
www.cfegroup.com
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