Acquisitions boost Wynnstay's figures

Animal feeder supplier Wynnstay reported its strongest ever annual results after contributions from its two acquisitions Wrekin Grain and Woodheads.

Revenues for the year ended 31 October 2011 rose 42% to £346.18m while pre-tax profit increased 17% to £6.94m.

Revenues at its agricultural division rose 54% to £274.57m and it saw an especially good performance from raw materials trading and arable supplies.

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At its specialist retailing division, revenues rose 9% to £71.32m while Wynnstay Stores saw good like-for-like sales, supported by high levels of non-discretionary spend, it said. Another three Just for Pets stores opened during the period.

Chief executive Ken Greetham commented, "While there was an impact from inflation in commodity prices, the group's results show the benefit of our acquisitions over the last two years, as well as especially good performances from our raw materials trading, arable supplies and specialist retailing activities."

Looking ahead, the board said it remains positive about its growth prospects.

"This year, we expect to see deflation in agricultural prices, given the good grain harvests across the globe, and pricing pressure for farmers is likely to remain unchanged as supermarkets position consumer staples such as milk and bread as competitively as possible."

Wynnstay said it remains mindful of long-term global macro-economic trends but believes the group is well positioned to continue expanding both organically and through additional complementary acquisitions.

A final dividend of 5.20p has been proposed, taking total dividend to 7.80p, up 10% from 2010.