18th Nov 2013 09:40
LONDON (Alliance News) - Agri-nutrition products company Origin Enterprises PLC Monday said revenue for the three months to October 26 declined 12.5% compared with last year, suffering from lower global fertiliser and feed prices.
In a trading update, the company said revenue for the period stood at EUR307.3 million, down from EUR351.2 million in 2012, as lower global fertiliser and feed prices took their toll. Origin said of the 12.5% decline, 4.6 percentage points were attributable to currency movements and 7.9 points to underlying performance.
It also said business-to-business agri-inputs had a slower start to the financial year mainly due to lower fertiliser volumes in the UK.
"Customers are adopting a cautious approach to the timing of purchase commitments in advance of the main (fertiliser) application period given the largely stable pricing environment currently," Origin Enterprises said.
In Poland, Origin said it made a good start to the financial year against the background of a later maize harvest. It said plantings had progressed with total cropping area and profile expected to be similar to 2012.
Origin said Valeo Foods Group, of which it holds 32%, is now its principal strategic investment following the sale of its 50% stake in marine proteins and oils joint venture interest, Welcon Invest AS, in August.
Valeo, a consumer foods business, delivered a "solid" performance in an intensely competitive trading environment, the company added.
In October, the group announced that it had reached conditional agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Agroscope, based in Ukraine. Agroscope provides agronomy services, high specification inputs and advisory support to arable and root crop growers.
Origin Enterprises was trading at 7.30 pence per share Monday morning, up 0.32 pence or 4.6%
By Anthony Tshibangu; [email protected]; @AnthonyAllNews
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