Wynnstay News

Last month, Wynnstay Group Plc proudly sponsored the Young Farmer of the Year Award at the first Farmer Rural Awards 2025 in Shrewsbury. The event brought together over 150 guests to celebrate the people and innovations shaping the future of British farming, where Harvey Pyke was crowned Young Farmer of the Year.

This sponsorship reflects Wynnstay’s ongoing commitment to supporting the next generation of farmers and investing in the future of British agriculture. With deep roots in Shropshire, Wynnstay is passionate about nurturing local talent, celebrating young people entering the industry, and strengthening rural communities.

Harvey, 22, originally from Manor Farm, Calverhall, near Whitchurch, is an active member of Whitchurch Young Farmers and works alongside his parents on their family farm, which focuses on beef and sheep, with some arable production. In addition to this, Harvey is Farm Manager for Griffiths Family Farms, a well-established farming business based in Shropshire that operates across poultry, beef, and arable enterprises. Harvey’s role centres on the beef and arable side of the business.

Harvey has recently taken an exciting step by establishing his own limited company alongside his other working commitments, primarily focused on beef production, with the support of both his parents and Griffiths Family Farms. He expressed his gratitude to them for providing the opportunity and guidance that have enabled him to pursue his ambitions in farming and business, as well as for nominating him for this prestigious award.

"I’m honoured to receive this award and grateful to my family and Griffiths Family Farms for their support. Farming is my passion, and I’m excited to continue building a future in this industry." – Harvey Pyke

"Supporting the next generation of farmers is very important to Wynnstay. By sponsoring the Young Farmer of the Year Award, we are recognising the talent, resilience, and innovation that will drive British agriculture forward. Harvey’s achievement is a testament to the passion and dedication that inspire us all." – Alk Brand, CEO Wynnstay

On the evening, the prize was presented to Harvey by local Sales Representative Matt Scarlett and Head of Communication, Olivia Bennett Jones. Olivia adds: "When my colleague Steve Jarrott (pictured below) and I visited Harvey on farm following the event, it was clear to see his enthusiasm and commitment to agriculture. His approach to building his business and his ambition for the future really stood out. It was thoroughly enjoyable to spend time with Harvey, learning what inspires and motivates him as a young person starting out in the sector".

Find out more about The Farmer Rural Awards 2025 here.

Wynnstay is delighted to announce that Jessica Williams of Dolaugwyn Farm, Bryncrug, Tywyn near Dolgellau, has been named the winner of the 2025 NFU Cymru / Wynnstay Sustainable Agriculture Award.

The award, presented at the NFU Cymru Conference on Thursday 6th November, recognises individuals who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to the economic, environmental, social, and cultural wellbeing of Wales. Jessica was awarded a prize of £500 and a beautifully engraved Welsh slate barometer in recognition of her exceptional contribution to sustainable farming.

This week, Wynnstay House opened its doors for a special Heritage Evening, welcoming members of the local community and key stakeholders to celebrate the site’s rich history. 
The event was designed to foster meaningful connections, with guests including representatives from Powys County Council, the Young Farmers Federation, and the Women’s Institute. Their attendance reflected the collaborative spirit that has shaped Wynnstay’s journey for over 100 years. 

Wynnstay Group Plc, the agricultural supplies and services company, is pleased to announce the integration of the agricultural raw materials trading operations of Wynnstay, Glasson Grain and GrainLink into a single trading unit, with the aim of establishing a stronger and growing presence in the agricultural raw materials trading market in the UK. 

Glasson Fertilisers, a leading UK manufacturer and supplier of agricultural fertiliser products and a subsidiary of Wynnstay Group Plc, is pleased to announce the opening of its new 65,000 tonne fertiliser blending facility at the Port of Avonmouth and to report that, just a few months after moving into full operation, the new plant is already ramping up production in line with the Group’s strategic growth plans.

Glasson Fertilisers, one of the UK’s leading agricultural fertiliser businesses, has announced the opening of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the Port of Avonmouth, Bristol. 

“This is an exciting milestone for Glasson Fertilisers as we continue to grow and innovate. Our new Avonmouth facility will allow us to expand our production capacity and deliver products to our customers quickly and efficiently while maintaining the high standards we’re known for.” - Robert Ingham, Director at Glasson Fertilisers.

¹Adjusted operating profit excludes amortisation of acquired intangibles, share based payment expenses, losses on mark to market of derivatives and non-recurring items.

²Adjusted profit before taxation excludes amortisation of acquired intangibles, share based payment expenses, losses on mark to market of derivatives, non-recurring items and the share of tax incurred by joint ventures.

³Adjusted earnings per share takes into account the tax effect of adjusting items.

⁴Net cash / (debt) excluding IFRS 16 leases.

• Results in line with revised expectations and reflect challenging market conditions.
• Revenue decreased to £613.1m (2024: £735.9m) with commodity deflation, which accounted for c. £117.9 (96%) of the reduction.
• Gross profit of £79.2m (2023: £79.9m), with lower activity and decreased unit margins in fertiliser manufacturing and grain marketing.
• Non-recurring items of £2.3m (2023: £0.1m) related mainly to business reorganisation expenses and impairment of assets.
• Robust balance sheet with net cash at £32.8m (2024: £23.7m).
• Proposed final dividend of 11.90p (2023: 11.75p), reflecting good cash generation and Board’s confidence of future prospects. Takes total dividend for the year to 17.5p (2023: 17.25p).

• The Group’s operating activities are now presented in three segments to reflect our new organisational structure and provide greater insight into the Group’s performance.
• Feed and Grain – adjusted profit before tax of £0.7m (2023: £5.7m):
  
  • manufactured feed volumes 2.7% lower; mostly reflected lower poultry feed volumes as manufacturing transitioned away from Twyford site. Very poor 2024 harvest resulted in reduced volumes available for grain trading.
• Fertiliser and Seed – adjusted profit before tax of £1.4m (2023: £0.8m):
  
  •   seed and fertiliser sales impacted by prolonged wet weather, which affected both autumn and spring planting seasons; manufactured fertiliser margins below target levels as raw material prices continued to track back to pre-crisis (2022) levels.
• Depot Merchanting – adjusted profit before tax of £5.5m (2023: £3.8m):
  
  • footfall and transaction levels in line with prior year. Margin improvement more than offset operational cost increases.
• Higher labour and energy costs partly offset by efficiency initiatives.

• Alk Brand joined as CEO on 1 October 2024.
• Project Genesis launched; objective is to establish a more efficient operating model that will drive higher margins, profits and cash generation and support the Group’s wider growth plans and value creation.
  
  • A new integrated divisional structure has been created: its implementation is already under way, including senior management changes.
  • Three-year timetable with initial benefits expected to be felt in FY25.

• Farmgate prices across most sectors are robust, which will support farmer sentiment despite continuing uncertainties around the transition in governmental support policies.
• Group is expected to deliver a stronger performance in FY25 than in FY24, helped by operational improvements already made.

“It was a disappointing year for the Group, reflecting a number of challenges, including adverse weather, which impacted planting and growing conditions, falling commodity prices and underperformance in certain areas of the business. More positively, investments progressed, cash flows were good, and the Group’s balance sheet remains strong.

“Together with the Board, I have reviewed the business, and we have launched Project Genesis. It is a three-year transformation programme, which is focused on establishing a more efficient operating model to drive performance. We are confident that this will better position Wynnstay for future growth and long-term success, and create substantial value for shareholders.

“Trading in the new financial year is in line with management expectations, and we anticipate an improved performance over last year, helped by the actions we have already taken.”

Wynnstay will be hosting an online presentation of the Company’s results on 14 February 2025. Shareholders and potential investors can register to join the online presentation at https://bit.ly/WYN_FY24_results_webinar. Further information can be obtained from KTZ Communications.

You can find the full RNS here.

Performance affected by challenging trading conditions as anticipated.

Expectations for the full year remain unchanged.

• Resilient performance in challenging trading conditions created by:
  • exceptionally wet weather conditions, which disrupted the seed planting season;
  • weaker farmer sentiment; and
  • falling commodity prices, which impacted manufacturing operations.
• Revenue of £328.5m (2023: £409.1m) with the year-on-year reduction driven by commodity price deflation, which accounted for c. £69.0m (86%) of the decrease.
• Gross profit down slightly at £40.2m (2023: £41.7m) – reflecting lower activity, however unit margins across categories were broadly maintained.
• Adjusted operating profit¹ of £4.7m (2023: £5.8m).
• Adjusted pre-tax profit² of £4.8m (2023: £6.0m). Reported pre-tax profit of £4.4m (2023: £5.5m).
• Basic earnings per share of 14.3p (2023: 19.3p).
• Net cash³ at 30 April 2024 was £18.5m (2023: net debt of £7.3m) and benefited from soft commodity price deflation. The Group’s annual working capital requirement is typically highest at this point. 
• Net assets increased to £136.3m/£5.91 per share (2023: £132.4m/£5.87 per share).
• Interim dividend of 5.6p (2023: 5.5p)

1. Adjusted operating profit excludes amortisation of acquired intangibles, share based payment expenses and non-recurring items.
2. Adjusted profit before taxation excludes amortisation of acquired intangibles, share based payment expenses, non-recurring items and the share of tax incurred by joint ventures.
3. Net cash / (debt) excluding IFRS 16 leases.

• Agriculture Division – revenue of £257.0m (2023: £333.6m), adjusted operating profit1 of £1.3m (2023:  £2.3m):
  • seed and fertiliser sales significantly impacted by wet weather;
  • manufactured feed volumes 2.3% lower.  Margins maintained.
• Specialist Agricultural Merchanting Division – revenue of £71.5m (2023: £75.6m), adjusted operating profit1 of £3.3m (2023: £3.4m).
  • sales only c. 0.8% lower adjusting for deflation.
• Higher labour, distribution and packaging costs, partially offset through ongoing efficiency initiatives.
• Investment programmes on track – increasing feed manufacturing capacity and installing next phase of solar panel arrays.

• Trading in April and May was ahead of the prior year and further weather-deferred sales are expected to come through in H2. The Group also has favourable forward positions in grain and a strong order book in fertiliser. Some margin pressures remain.
• Outlook for farmgate prices, especially for milk, is more favourable.
• Group remains positioned to deliver a full year performance in line with current market expectations, with a more significant second half weighting than last year.

Steve Ellwood, Executive Chairman of Wynnstay Group plc, said:

“Trading conditions in the first half of the financial year were significantly tougher than in the comparable period last year. The seed planting season was disrupted by persistent rain and wider farmer sentiment was weakened by suppressed farmgate prices and continuing uncertainty over governmental support polices. This was reflected in farm spending and investment patterns.  

“We managed trading pressures as effectively as possible and broadly maintained margins across our product categories. We also continued to make progress with our major investment programmes. 

“Spring trading over April and May has been ahead of last year and we anticipate more favourable farmgate prices, especially for milk, in the second half of the year. The Group continues to benefit from a strong balance sheet and good cash flow, which will support our investment and growth plans. Our expectations for the full year remain unchanged."

Financial

• Much softer trading conditions compared to FY22
  • farmer sentiment lower, farmgate prices down in important categories of dairy and arable, and the significant one-off gains of FY22 were not repeated (as expected)
• Revenue up 3% to £735.9m (2022: £713.0m)
  • full year contributions from two acquisitions and record grain trading volumes, partly offset by the normalisation of fertiliser prices from the unsustainable, historic highs of 2022
• Adjusted operating profit* was £9.30m, including adverse stock realisations as fertiliser raw material prices normalised (2022: £22.4m, including significant one-off fertiliser stock gains)
• Underlying pre-tax profit* of £9.2m, including nominal, non-cash accounting loss of £0.8m (2022: £22.6m, including significant one-off gains) Reported pre-tax profit of £8.7m (2022: £21.1m)
• Basic earnings per share of 30.75p (2022: 82.72p)
• Net cash (excluding property leases) rose to £19.0m (2022: £18.2m)
• Net assets increased to £135.2m (2022: £130.7m)
• 20th consecutive year of dividend increases, with proposed final dividend of 11.75p (2022: 11.60p) – taking total dividend for the year to 17.25p (2022: 17.00p)

Operational

• Agriculture Division - revenue of £584.3m (2022: £564.3m), segmental profit contribution of £3.7m, including one-off adverse Glasson fertiliser stock realisations (2022: £14.7m including significant Glasson fertiliser stock gains)
  • Glasson contended with correction in fertiliser raw material prices to more sustainable levels, which created stock losses
  • feed volumes decreased by 5.3% on a like-for-like basis, largely reflecting lower demand from dairy and poultry sectors, respectively affected by weaker milk prices and by Avian influenza and margin pressures
  • arable activities experienced a very poor seasonally important Q4 with prolonged wet weather significantly disrupting farmers' post-harvest activities. Grain marketing operation, GrainLink, delivered record performance and fertiliser demand recovered as global prices reduced but margins were pressured
  • Higher labour and energy costs impacted margins
• Specialist Agricultural Merchanting Division - revenue of £151.5m (2022: £148.8m), segmental profit contribution of £6.1m (2022: £7.9m)
  • footfall and number of transactions were in line with prior year, but like-for-like sales decreased as lower farmer sentiment affected spending patterns, with higher margin bagged feed and hardware sales down
• 2022 acquisitions, Humphrey Feeds and Tamar Milling, were fully integrated
  • full benefits still to come
• First phase of investment at Carmarthen feed mill was completed, with other investments also progressing well, including installation of solar arrays

Outlook

• Market conditions expected to remain challenging in the short-term
• Strong balance sheet and good cash generation leaves Group well-placed to continue with its strategic growth plans and to consider suitable acquisition opportunities

*Underlying pre-tax profit is a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) measure and is not intended as a substitute for GAAP measures and may not be calculated in the same way as those used by other companies. Refer to Note 14 for an explanation on how this measure has been calculated and the reasons for its use.

Gareth Davies, Chief Executive of Wynnstay Group plc, commented:

"Last year's results were exceptional, setting record highs driven by substantial one-off gains, especially from soaring global fertiliser prices. Strong farmgate prices and farmer confidence also helped to create a strong market backdrop last year for the Group. 
 
"This year's results were generated against much softer trading conditions, with weaker farmer sentiment, particularly dairy and arable farmers, higher labour and energy costs, and a weak final quarter for arable as a result of the prolonged wet weather.  As we expected, the one-off gains of 2022 did not repeat and our fertiliser activities contended with the reversal of fertiliser raw materials prices, which created one-off stock losses.
 
"Nonetheless, we made progress with the Group's investment plans and completed the integration of our two acquisitions, Humphrey Feeds and Tamar Milling. The full strategic benefits of these acquisitions are still to come through. We are also delighted to highlight our twentieth year of annual dividend growth, with our proposed final dividend.
 
"Trading conditions are anticipated to remain challenging in the short-term. However, the Group's strong balance sheet and good cash flows leave us well-placed to continue with our growth plans and to consider suitable acquisitions."

View the full RNS statement here

Enquiries:

The British Free Range Egg Producer Association (BFREPA) Awards were held on Wednesday, 15th November, in Telford, and a Wynnstay colleague was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.