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Origin Enterprises PLC on Thursday said trading suffered during the third quarter, although the company still expects to meet operational targets. The Dublin, Ireland-based agronomy services company said in the third quarter ended April 30, total group revenue declined 9.8% to €669.1 million from €741.5 million in the previous year. In Ireland and the UK, revenue fell 10% to €439.2 million from €489.6 million, and in continental Europe revenue was down 2.1% to €171.8 million from EU175.4 million. Origin said that during the recent quarter there was a continuation of poor weather and challenging in-field conditions, which led to a reduced spring cropping in the UK and delayed farming activity across the UK, Ireland and Europe for Origin’s customers. ‘Crop protection volumes showed modest improvement in the third quarter, driven primarily by continental Europe, but pricing remained weak,’ Origin said. By contrast, the company reported 23% revenue growth in Latin America to €18.2 million from €14.9 million. This was driven by 58% volume growth in the quarter driven by the company’s Brazilian business and continued investment in sales organisation and operations infrastructure. Group revenue for the first three quarters combined year-to-date was down 21% to €1.52 billion from €1.92 billion. Despite challenging trading conditions throughout the current financial year, Origin said it remains on track to deliver its operational targets. Origin expects full-year adjusted diluted earnings per share between 45 to 48 cents, down from 71.53c. The company aims to achieve cumulative group operating profit of €415 million for the period between financial year 2022 and 2026, up from €329 million in the preceding five years. Origin Enterprises shares were untraded in London at €3.06 each on Thursday. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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