Company Reports & Accounts
By Roger Dean
William Thompson (York) Ltd This company filed its annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 30 September 2019 on 4 March 2020. The company reported sales of £41.5 million in the year under
review, an increase of £5.97 million or 16.8 per cent compared to the previous accounting period. The cost of sales rose by £3.3 million or just over 10 per cent with the result that the company’s Gross Profit increased by a substantial £2.67 million or 88 per cent. The company’s principal activities, the sale and distribution of
compound feeds and blends remained the same during the year in question, along with its Country Store activity which ‘continues to perform in line with expectations’. The company’s Directors also point out that raw material markets and currency movements ‘continue to be difficult to predict’; Brexit was mentioned in this context. In addition, the company incurred a number of exceptional items related to a group restructure during the year under review; there was also an exceptional item related to assets damaged by a fire in the mill during the year. These exceptional items accounted for a net £4.12 million during the year. Gross Profit as a percentage of turnover during the period under
review, at 13.7 per cent represented a substantial improvement compared with the previous accounting period of 8.5 per cent; the latter reflected substantial raw material cost increases that were not recovered in the market place. The ratio of pre-tax profits to turnover before tax, at 12.6 per cent, strongly reflected the impact of exceptional items; during the previous five years it averaged 0.3 per cent. The immediate and ultimate parent undertaking of the company
is the Brandsby Agricultural Trading Association Ltd. The latter is registered under the Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies Act2014 and there is no controlling party. The company’s next annual Report and Accounts is due by 20
June 2021.
Devenish Nutrition Ltd This company filed its annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 May 2019 on 3 March 2020. After several years of sustained growth, the company’s turnover
in the year to 31 May 2019 amounted to £102.64 million, 31.3 million or 1.3 per cent less than in the corresponding period a year earlier. The Directors note that ‘while turnover reduced year-on-year, this was influenced by the impact of commodity price movements during the year and mix of products; tonnage sold increased during the year’. The company notes the result of the EU referendum and comments
on the likely impact that this will have on uncertain exchange rates and other ‘market uncertainties’. Nevertheless, the company observes that it is well-placed to face the challenges and ‘avail of the opportunities
PAGE 18 MARCH/APRIL 2020 FEED COMPOUNDER
as greater clarity emerges’. The company’s cost of sales decreased by £3.27 million or 3.9 per
cent. This led to an increased Gross Profit, up by £1.97 million or 9.5 per cent. The company’s Gross Profit ratio rose from 20 per cent in the previous accounting year to 22.2 per cent in the year under review, its highest level in nine years. However, the company’s administrative cost ratio, at 22.6 per cent was at its highest for a number of years. After making a steady run of profits, the company moved into a
loss-making situation in the 2018 financial year, recording a pre-tax loss of £1.49 million. However, this was substantially down in the financial year under review, when the pre-tax loss was reduced to £804,437. The company’s immediate parent undertaking is Devenish
Holdings Ltd, a company incorporated in Northern Ireland. The company’s ultimate parent undertaking is Devenish (NI) Ltd, which is also incorporated in Northern Ireland. The company’s next Report and Accounts made up to the year ending 31 May 2020 are due by 28 February 2021
Provimi Ltd The company filed its annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 May 2019 on 20 February 2020. The company was previously known as Nutec Ltd, changing its
name to Provimi Ltd on 14 December 2001. The principal activities of the company are the manufacture and distribution of animal feed supplements and veterinary animal health supplements. The bulk of the company’s business is conducted in the UK which
accounted, in the financial year under review, for 96.4 per cent, compared to 77.8 per cent in the previous accounting year. The overwhelming bulk of non-UK business was with other European countries. In the financial year under review, the company’s turnover fell
by £7.34 million or 13.8 per cent. While turnover in the UK rose from £40.86 million to £43.68 million, it fell for other European countries and was entirely eliminated as regards the rest of the world. However, despite the fall in total sales, the company’s Gross Profit increased by 5.5 per cent during the year under review and this was emphasized by a reduction of indirect costs by almost £2 million or 23.7 per cent. This led to a return to operating profits for the first time since the 2013 financial year. The data suggests that the company, like many others operating in
the livestock feed industry, suffered from increased raw material costs which they were unable to reclaim from the market. Prior to 2017, the company’s Gross Profit ratio averaged 13.6 per cent before falling to 9.7 per cent during the 2017 financial year. It recovered to 12.7 per cent in 2018 and to 15.6 per cent in 2019, its highest in a decade. However, the pre-tax profitability ratio has only become positive during the 2019 financial year. The company’s annual Report and Accounts include a note by
the company’s auditors drawing particular attention to the uncertainties raised by the results of the EU referendum. The immediate parent undertaking of Provimi Ltd is Cargill Plc, a
company incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. Cargill Incorporated is the ultimate parent undertaking of Provimi Ltd and is regarded by the company’s Directors as the company’s ultimate controlling party.
Comment section is sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd
www.cfegroup.com
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