A combination of good grain supplies and buoyant demand for animal feed in the second half meant an impressive performance at Wynnstay's (WYN) agricultural division - which significantly explains the group's decent full-year performance.
Farmers were forced to buy feed because the wet summer reduced the quality of silage - accordingly, agricultural revenues rose 8 per cent year-on-year to £295m and this, in turn, led to a 23 per cent jump in divisional operating profit to £4.71m. The retail operation - country and pet stores - didn't grow quite so strongly, but that unit still boosted sales 13 per cent to £80.5m with profits there up a more modest 5 per cent to £3.9m, partly reflecting marketing spend. Although the net debt pile did more than double year-on-year - reflecting higher levels of working capital utilisation from expansion efforts, as well the impact of weather-related changes to some trading patterns.
After 2012's poor harvest and autumn planting condition, management sounded a note of caution regarding future prospects, however. Broker Shore Capital reflected that caution in its estimates and expects adjusted profits for 2013 to be just £200,000 higher than those in 2012, at £8m, giving adjusted EPS of 35.39p (2012: 34.05p).
WYNNSTAY (WYN) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 460p | MARKET VALUE: | £77m | |
| TOUCH: | 457-463p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 480p | LOW: 349p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.8% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 338p* | NET DEBT: | 24% | |
| Year to 31 Oct | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 235 | 5.11 | 29.3 | 6.00 |
| 2009 | 215 | 5.12 | 26.4 | 6.50 |
| 2010 | 244 | 5.88 | 27.5 | 7.10 |
| 2011 | 346 | 6.85 | 30.2 | 7.80 |
| 2012 | 376 | 7.76 | 35.0 | 8.50 |
| % change | +9 | +13 | +16 | +9 |
Ex-div: 27 Mar Payment: 30 Apr *Includes intangible assets of £15.6m, or 93p a share Aim: food producers | ||||
