Carr’s Milling, the UK-based animal feed and agricultural machinery group, has reported a strong growth in profits during the year ending August 2010.
The Carlisle-based company, which owns fertiliser manufacturing and fuel operations, saw pre-tax profits rise 27.4 per cent to £9 million.
The company said that expansion in Scotland, which included acquisitions of Scotmin Nutrition and AC Burn in August from Buccleuch Group, had contributed to the strong results. Carr’s purchased Ayr-based Scotmin, which makes animal feed supplements, and agricultural merchant AC Burn, for £5.62 million.
Due to over-capacity in the milling industry and the rising price of wheat, Carr’s group sales fell 1.7 per cent to £344 million during the period. However, revenue from the Agriculture division was three per cent higher, at £203 million.
The company also reduced net debt, which was down 19.7 per cent from the previous year at £15.5 million.
Commenting, chairman Richard Inglewood said: "Carr's achieved a strong financial performance for the past year whilst continuing to build the Group's market presence both in the UK and overseas.”
He continued: “Our Engineering division continues with an emphasis on niche high-skill contract-focused work with orders into 2013 including a significant demand from Japan, France and Germany. We believe we are ideally placed for a strong forthcoming year having laid a solid foundation for sustained growth, and are confident in the outlook for the Group."
CEO Chris Holmes added: "Carr's has had a strong start to the new financial year, benefiting from both recent acquisitions and strong sales of animal feed in the US. In the UK, our broad agricultural base has enabled us to continue growing despite the prevailing unsustainable farmgate milk price. We believe that the foundations laid last year are already paying dividends in this quarter and we expect this to continue."
The company was founded in 1831 by Jonathan Dodgson Carr.
