27th Nov 2015 07:37
LONDON (Alliance News) - Origin Enterprises PLC on Friday said its new financial year has started slower than a year earlier and expects its earnings to be heavily weighted to the second half.
The Irish agri-services business said trading in the three months to the end of October, its first quarter, took a hit from delayed new season activity in farming during August and September due to weather interrupting the 2015 harvest. This affected the timing of service and input application for the winter crop planting programmes this year.
New season activity on farms was more robust towards the end of the quarter, Origin said, with the total sown area for the winter crops broadly flat year-on-year in the majority of Origin's markets.
The company said the generally weaker output price environment and the associated pressure this will place on the farming industry is likely to result in more concentrated purchasing patterns by primary producers, likely delaying investment decisions to the second half.
In total, revenue for the first quarter to the end of October fell, down to EUR300.4 million from EUR318.0 million, offset in part by currency translation benefits from the weak euro, as underlying revenue fell 9.0%.
Origin said the autumn cropping profile still provides a robust foundation for the second half of the financial year, when the group generates about 90% of its earnings.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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