Business
AGM Statement / Acquisition
AGM Statement / Acquisition.
About this update from Fevara Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Carr's Milling Industries PLC\n09 January 2007\n\n\n \n\n CARR'S MILLING INDUSTRIES PLC \n\n Chairman's AGM Statement / Acquisition \n\n\nAGM STATEMENT\n\nAt this morning's AGM in Carlisle of Carr's, the Cumbria-based agriculture, food\nand engineering group, the Chairman, Lord (Richard) Inglewood, will make the\nfollowing Statement:\n\n'In the 52 weeks to 2 September 2006, Carr's achieved an eighth successive\nannual increase in both adjusted pre-tax profit and adjusted basic earnings per\nshare. Revenue increased by 26.3% to £242.6m, partially due to the inclusion for\nthe full year of the Pye animal feed business acquired by an associate in July\n2005 and of the Meneba flour business acquired in November 2004. On an adjusted\nbasis (as defined in the Preliminary Announcement of 13 November 2006), pre-tax\nprofit was up 9.2% at £7.3m and basic earnings per share rose 17.3% to 59.7p.\nReflecting the Group's progressive dividend policy, its good performance and the\nstrength of its business, the Board is proposing an increase in the final\ndividend per share of 13.6% to 12.5p, making a total for the year of 18.0p, up\n12.5% and covered 3.3 times by adjusted basic earnings per share.\n\nFour months of the year to 1 September 2007 have now elapsed and prospects\nremain substantially as set out in the Preliminary Announcement.\n\nIn Agriculture, trading is favourable in feed blocks (in each of the UK, the USA\nand Germany), retail/machinery and oil distribution. In the UK, the farm gate\nmilk price received by our customers remains low and continues to have a\nnegative impact on our margins for compound feed and on sales of fertiliser.\nFarmers are holding off fertiliser purchases at this early stage of the season\nto an even greater extent than last year. All three joint venture feed companies\nestablished in 2006 - Afgritech in England, Bibby Agriculture in Wales and\nCrystalyx Products in Germany - have started well. Indeed, the new plant at our\nfeed mill at Langwathby (Cumbria) to produce by-pass protein for ruminant\nanimals was commissioned, on target, in November and the early results are\nencouraging.\n\nAs predicted in the Preliminary Announcement, the massive increase in wheat\nprices, combined with high energy costs, will make it a tough year for food.\nThere remains an inevitable lag in successfully passing on cos...