Carr’s chair has ‘renewed optimism and purpose’ after tough year
Listed engineering and agriculture group Carr’s is looking for new opportunities “in areas like clean energy, global demand for sustainable protein and emissions reduction” as it puts a turbulent year behind it.
On the plus side the Carlisle headquartered group disposed of its agricultural supplies division to co-owners Edward Billington & Son, a deal which completed on 26 October 2022, bringing £29.9m to Carr’s.
But the group was also hit by delayed audit which caused its shares to be suspended and a delay in payment of the final dividend.
Chairman Tim Jones, who joined in February 2023, said: “I have a sense of renewed optimism and purpose. There were significant challenges during the FY22 year-end process that impacted the Carr’s team and the external auditor, Grant Thornton UK LLP. We have extensively reviewed our internal and external processes and real progress has been made in FY23.
“The Carr’s brand has a deservedly strong reputation which is supported by a leading market share in the UK, an exciting range of product innovations and new licence approvals alongside compelling opportunities in overseas markets. Notwithstanding the challenging conditions presently being felt across the agricultural sector the Company is firmly focused on market penetration, the reduction of its costs and optimising shareholder value.”
During the financial year ended 2 September 2023 revenues increased 15.3% to £143.2m (FY22: £124.2m).
Adjusted profit before tax reduced by 33.2% to £7.5m (FY22: £11.2m). Adjusted earnings per share for continuing operations decreased by 38.0% to 6.2p (FY22: 10.0p) for the year.
David White, chief executive, said: “Despite the headwinds impacting Speciality Agriculture we are making significant progress on our plans to increase market penetration, integrate our businesses to optimise performance and reduce costs; and leverage supportive trends.
“We expect challenging trading conditions in Speciality Agriculture to continue through the current financial year but are focused on managing current performance and positioning the division for growth on market recovery. The Engineering order book levels will help deliver year on year growth during FY24 and beyond, with operational leverage in that division providing attractive returns.”
