19th Jun 2019 09:42
(Alliance News) - Origin Enterprises PLC on Wednesday said revenue rose in its third quarter as trading in Ireland and the UK offset a "challenging market backdrop" in Continental Europe and Ukraine in particular.
Revenue in the agri-services firm's third quarter ended April 30 rose 13% to EUR595.4 million from EUR526.7 million the year before, with an 11% underlying revenue increase due to higher demand for crop inputs and services.
For the nine months to April 30, revenue rose 17% to EUR1.30 billion from EUR1.11 billion, with underlying revenue up 13%.
In the UK & Ireland, revenue rose 20% to EUR405.5 million in the third quarter from EUR338.3 million a year before, rising 18% on an underlying basis. Year-to-date revenue in UK & Ireland was up 17% to EUR839.4 million from EUR715.8 million a year before and up 16% on an underlying basis.
This more than offset a 1.9% third-quarter drop in revenue in Continental Europe to EUR157.9 million from EUR161.0 million, down 1.6% on an underlying basis. Continental Europe was more positive year-to-date, with revenue up 8.2% to EUR305.8 million from EUR282.6 million.
Ukraine was the main detractor from performance in Continental Europe and suffered lower sales margins.
Origin Enterprises said of Urkaine: "Business performance reflected a market characterised by lower liquidity and excess inventories, resulting in highly competitive trading conditions."
The company made its first entry into the Brazilian agri-services market when it acquired Fortgreen in August 2018. Third-quarter revenue in Latin America was EUR3.9 million and was EUR25.2 million in the year-to-date. All of this came from Fortgreen.
"Strong performances for Ireland & UK and Latin America in the nine-month period have more than offset the impact of challenging operating conditions in Continental Europe," said Origin Enterprises.
"Overall, there has been a positive start to trading in the fourth quarter. The group expects to achieve full-year adjusted, fully diluted earnings per share in the range of 51.5 to 52.5 EUR cents," the company said.
In financial 2018, Origin reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of 48.80 cents, up 4.7% on the year before. So the guidance suggests an increase of as much as 7.6%.
Shares in Origin Enterprises were untraded in London at EUR5.39 on Wednesday morning.
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