The beefing up of US cattle herds added some rump to agriculture and farming company Carr's (CARR). Sales of feedblocks in the US were at "unprecedented levels", with a 5.1 per cent rise on top of record levels last year. While farming conditions in the UK remain tough due to low milk prices weighing on farmers' incomes, chief executive Tim Davies said market share gains meant compound feed volumes rose 2.1 per cent compared with a market fall of 4 per cent. He added that the like-for-like performance of Country Store network was strong given the tough farming conditions and said the purchase of Green Co and Phoenix Feeds provided a boost to the division's sales.
But margins in UK agriculture dropped and machinery sales fell 8.1 per cent in line with a market fall of 14.8 per cent. The engineering division was also hit by continued low oil prices and contract delays. But Mr Davies said targeting more nuclear-related work had worked well, with 69 per cent of divisional revenue linked to that industry compared with 62 per cent in FY2015.
House broker Investec expects pre-tax profit of £14.2m in the year to August 2017, leading to EPS of 11p, compared with £14.1m and 10.7p in FY2016.
| CARR'S (CARR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 144p | MARKET VALUE: | £131m | |
| TOUCH: | 144-145p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 156p | LOW: 121p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.6%* | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 106p | NET CASH: | £8.1m | |
| Year to 3 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 404 | 13.1 | 9.8 | 2.90 |
| 2013 | 468 | 15.4 | 12.0 | 3.20 |
| 2014 | 429 | 16.6 | 12.8 | 3.40 |
| 2015 | 331 | 13.7 | 10.0 | 3.70 |
| 2016 | 315 | 14.1 | 10.7 | 3.80 |
| % change | -5 | +3 | +7 | +3 |
Ex-div: 15 Dec Payment: 13 Jan *Excludes special dividend of 17.54p a share | ||||
