Carr’s Group beats expectations despite unseasonable weather impact
Agriculture and engineering firm Carr’s Group narrowly beat full-year expectations despite the impact of unseasonable weather on its farming business .
The figures
Revenue increased 0.2 per cent to £403.2m, and adjusted profit before tax increased nine per cent to £18m.
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The company reported that net debt in the year to 31 August was £23.8m, an increase of £12m due to the acquisition of Animax and NW Total during the year.
Carr’s announced a final dividend of 2.5p per share.
Why it is interesting
Unseasonable weather in the UK and US hurt trading in the company’s agriculture division, where sales were down 0.6 per cent year on year.
However, the impact was largely mitigated by cost control, manufacturing efficiencies and effective raw material procurement, the company said this morning
In its full-year results statement Carr’s said: “Unseasonable mild and dry weather during winter and spring impacted sales volumes in the UK and across Europe, which was in stark contrast to the colder weather experienced during the spring of 2017.
“Consistent wet weather in the USA also reduced demand for feed blocks, impacting sales volumes.”
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Trading in the company’s agriculture division was in-line with expectations at the beginning of the new financial year, while engineering reported a slower start due to contract phasing.
What Carr’s Group said
Carr’s chairman Chris Holmes said: “We are pleased to have delivered a strong financial performance in the year, moderately ahead of the board’s expectations, despite unseasonable weather significantly impacting trading across our agriculture division.”
Main image credit: Getty