Wynnstay Share Discussion Threads

[9degrees] 07/4/2014 09:17

Picked by fund in Sunday Times money section yesterday

[9degrees] 04/2/2014 14:51

Good results from NWF (a competitor)in feeds

[m.t.glass] 28/1/2014 14:32

Tanfield was merely one of 200 threads I hosted.
I follow that company as a soap opera not an investment these days ;o)
I hold no TAN shares.

We have a local Wynnstay store (Leominster) which I sometimes shop at, and I lived in the southwest Wales territory where I was familiar with the group of 7 stores they recently acquired there.

[9degrees] 28/1/2014 14:09

MTG - welcome from Tanfield _ I hope we do better here ! still sitting on a pile of Tan!

[m.t.glass] 28/1/2014 13:28

Previous resistance level of 637.5p (Oct 30, and Nov 21) is now being tested as support level. Needs to bounce upwards off it.. If it drops below that, I would hope it at least bounces off 614p.

[m.t.glass] 28/1/2014 07:40

Yes. Nice results. Some of the metrics are a tad below forecasts detailed on Sharescope, but the overall picture looks good to me.

Share price climbed 44% in 2013, and near fourfold since bottoming in Spring 2009.

[9degrees] 28/1/2014 07:26

fantastic results - well done chaps !! Onwards and upwards .....

[jeffian] 12/9/2013 13:56

Re #172,

I can't wait any longer - I'm in! The fact that the Placing was achieved so close to market value and the share price is recovering almost straight away (I was expecting (hoping?!) it would go to near the Placing price for me to get in) makes me think it's pretty bullet-proof at this level.

[9degrees] 27/8/2013 10:47

Condolences to Gareth's family and colleagues

[burbelly] 19/6/2013 10:00

long may it continue

[jeffian] 19/6/2013 09:39

It's (one of) my biggest mistakes too. I've had it on my 'watchlist' since 220 and I STILL haven't bought it!

8-(

[redartbmud] 19/6/2013 08:16

This company was my biggest investment mistake last year - I didn't buy nearly enough shares, and the price has been rising ever since.

Good management and growing.

A little gem!

[9degrees] 19/6/2013 07:13

excellent results - well done wynnstay

[9degrees] 17/6/2013 10:09

thanks cyf- inrtersting article and bodes well for WYN. Incidentally anyone know when results are due . must be this week ??

[cyfran101] 15/6/2013 15:11

IC Sector review:

Whatever side of the gatepost you're on, this debate is part of the much wider and critical issue of food security, and what is undeniable is that production must become more efficient if we are to meet rising demand for food from a rapidly multiplying global population. This is where investors stand to make appetising profits.

Demand for cereal is set to rise by almost 50 per cent by 2050 to feed the extra three billion people on the planet. And as people in emerging markets become richer they are demanding more protein, usually in the form of meat, too. At the same time, food supply is becoming increasingly constrained because of limited land availability, lower water supplies, adverse climate conditions and an increasing use of arable fields for bio fuel and animal feed rather than crops for food.

In fact, raising animals for food already uses a third of the earth's arable land mass, according to the United Nations, and producing meat is both inefficient and expensive. It takes three kilogrammes of grain to produce just one kilogramme of meat. So, with the proportion of cereal used as feed estimated to reach 45 to 50 per cent by 2050, not only must crop yields rise and costs fall, but alternatives to traditional feeds must be found.

Fortunately, there's certainly scope for innovation here after three decades of chronic under-investment in agricultural research and development. Yields have stagnated for cereals, partly as a result of declining investment, while a lack of spending on food technology has wiped out productivity growth in the UK, too. Take dairy farming, where the top one-third of UK farmers are twice as efficient as the rest. Similarly, the cost of growing wheat for the top 20 per cent of wheat farmers is £100 a tonne, while for the bottom 20 per cent, it is £160 a tonne. Wheat yields, too, have the potential to increase by 30 per cent by some estimates. The companies that facilitate this, from the processors to the seed, feed and fertiliser manufacturers, will be well positioned to benefit.

Phil Carroll, analyst at Shore Capital, calls this sweet spot the "value gap". While prices in the main commodities have retreated from their highs to a new price plateau, Mr Carroll says he's not interested in the commodities themselves, but the companies that add value to help meet demand, which is where the real opportunity lies.

In the small UK-listed agri-food sector, Aim-listed Wynnstay Group(WYN) stands out. It has a 14 per cent share of the UK seed market and is steadily increasing revenue and profit, while expanding geographically and making acquisitions. It develops feed products and healthcare supplements for livestock, but is also involved in all the areas of crop production, supplying seed, fertilisers and crop protection products. Boss Ken Greetham predicts a massive market for agricultural products over the next 30 years. "We have limited land and water and can't do much about that, but we can do a lot with technology and that has been lacking in our industry," he says. Companies in the sector are finally redirecting investment towards research and development, he adds, while the outlook for UK agriculture and exports is at its strongest since the 1940s.

NWF(NWF) is another domestic player. It now feeds one in seven dairy cows in Britain, investing in animal nutrition research projects to improve farmers' profitability. Meanwhile, Carr's Milling Industries (CRM) operates a diverse business model, manufacturing speciality feed and fertilisers as well as specialist machinery and fuel. For extra diversification, it processes and sells cereals to bakers, food manufacturers and retailers.

Then there are a suite of global giants which dominate the business of feed ingredients and crop nutrients and protection such as Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS), Nutreco(AM: NUO) and Agrium (TSX: AGU). US-based Archer Daniels(NYSE: ADM) is developing alternatives to traditional cereal-based feeds that can transform crop residue into a nutritious feed source, squeezing more value out of every acre. This is particularly important in bad crop years and expands capacity without requiring additional land.

Indeed, crop protection, fertiliser, seed engineering and nutrition is now big business, but sustainability is becoming an equally important factor as farmers are increasingly demanding less environmentally harmful crop treatments. Chemical giant BASF(GER: BAS) recently paid $1bn (£651m) for Becker Underwood, which develops yield-improving biological products that stimulate plant growth with fewer chemicals. Bayer 's (GER: BAYN) CropScience business shelled out nearly $500m to acquire AgraQuest, which also offers the so-called 'green products'.

Smaller companies such as UK-listed Plant Health Care (PHC) are also active in this space. In addition to organic fertiliser, it makes proteins that stimulate a plant's immune response, thereby increasing yields. The business strategy is to license this technology to bigger players. In 2008, it signed a deal with Monsanto (NYSE:MON) and a recent tie-up with Arysta LifeScience will see Plant Health's main product, Harpin, sold with branded fungicides in the US in 2014.

Elsewhere, pork specialist Cranswick(CRW) is experiencing high demand for meat, both at home and abroad, helped by the lower cost of pork relative to other meats. Recent European Union rules forcing continental pig farmers to up their welfare standards has also levelled the playing field and given Cranswick a boost. In addition, it has just bought East Anglian Pigs, an outdoor pig farm, suggesting Cranswick sees significant scope for growth here. Indeed, the UK is only 50 per cent self-sufficient in pig meat, while UK and European herds are in decline.

IC VIEW:

In Britain, food self-sufficiency has declined over the past decade to 59 per cent and the weather has caused havoc for farmers - last year's washout means Britain is likely to be a net importer of wheat for the first time in a decade. Yet cash-strapped Brits still demand cheap food and prefer to buy British. And, with global consumption rising, high food prices and finite resources, innovative technology to drive efficiency and boost yields will be vital to prevent demand from outstripping supply, playing into the hands of companies that help farmers maximise productivity and process their goods. This is something bigger players are picking up on and vying to gain exposure to - Glencore's recent acquisition of Canadian grain handler Viterra is a case in point. True, many of these companies will suffer short-term bumps along the way, inevitable given the nature of agriculture, but the evidence suggests that, for those of you willing to take a long-term view, investment in this sector will pay off.

FAVOURITES:

Carr's Milling is one of our long-standing buy tips (875p, 3 May 2012). It has recently seen extra demand for specialist animal feed due to poor grazing conditions and, trading on 10 times forward earnings, is below the peer average of 13. We also like Swiss giant Syngenta (VTX: SYNN), a leader in crop protection and seed supplying. Its shares have risen 11 per cent on our buy tip (335CHF, 16 Aug 2012). Rising grain prices have helped and a forward PE ratio of 16 means it's cheaper than peers Monsanto and Bayer, too. Produce Investments (PIL) recently reported a half-year loss of £1.2m, but this was largely down to last year's unseasonably wet weather. The underlying business model is sound and the shares could be worth snapping up at an all-time low of 135p, rated on a cheap five times forward earnings. It's worth keeping an eye on Canada's Agrium, too. The vertically integrated company mines its own nutrients and offers growers across the Americas crop production services through its retail unit. Buying the bulk of Viterra's agri-products business from Glencore beefs up its retail presence in Canada and Australia.

OUTSIDERS:

Plant Health Care has some innovative ideas and is cash-rich, which should help fund further development of its promising third-generation plant treatment products. But it's still early days and the company is not yet profitable - last year it reported a loss of £4.2m and revenue has been falling since 2008.
BROKER VIEW:

Agriculture as an investment

Year on year, harvests will vary, the rain will come and go, making the supply side of large elements of agriculture unpredictable and volatile. However, prices are a function of supply and demand and the latter has followed a new upward trajectory in recent years. While many in the West seek to reduce their calorie intake, there are many new tummies in the East seeking nutrition and not just rice-based diets. Such demand is driving up long-term agricultural prices and with it the cost of land, inputs and outputs.

Investors have identified this equation with inflows to global agriculture and with most farm-related stocks enjoying a re-rating. On the agri-input side, Plant Healthcare is bringing improved productivity to crop yields in the Americas through its 'Harpin' innovation, while Wynnstay is adding value through seeds, feeds and fertilisers to British farmers. Produce Investments, a leader in the UK potato market, recently extended its geography for production to the south-west of England plus entry in the fresh flower market, with the prospect of more to come. The Real Good Food Co. has developed a strategically important low-cost supply of cane sugar from Omnicane in Mauritius.

Further up the food chain, Cranswick started life as a Yorkshire farming enterprise and is now a fast-growing market-leading value-added food processor, now exporting to Australia, China and the US. Analysis from Sion Roberts, director of the European Farming and Food Partnerships, shows how 'value added' in agri-food has entered a new higher-value phase. Tim Smith, Tesco's technical director, has outlined its plans for a simpler supply chain, with fewer intermediaries and ultimately more product and value added for the UK farmers and growers. From the strong domestic scene to medium-term global context, the small but well-formed and growing UK-listed agri-food sector remains an attractive investment opportunity.

Clive Black and Phil Carroll, analysts at Shore Capital

[9degrees] 16/5/2013 13:01

Good prelims from NWF today bodes well for WYN

[9degrees] 27/3/2013 21:25

Helps sales of animal feeds but is not good for seeds and fertilizer sales .
Good for sales of wellies and spades from the stores . Means there could be another poor harvest this year as the fields are so wet and cold how are farmers going to grow anything . Means prices go up on low volumes - good for WYN?

[artibee] 27/3/2013 08:57

how is the weather likely to effect business? Any thoughts?

[burbelly] 19/3/2013 08:23

encouraging enough statement

as expected:

"Trading at GrainLink, the Group's grain marketing operation, has been encouraging although as expected it has been affected by the very poor harvest conditions of 2012, which impacted both grain quality and yields."

[burbelly] 13/3/2013 22:56

who was that? should we not have had an RNS? Is the company buying back its own shares?

[9degrees] 06/3/2013 17:45

SOMEONE JUST BOUGHT 6.5% OF THE CO!

[9degrees] 04/2/2013 20:01

countryfile last night showed Wynnstay nuts being fed to animals in the snow recently on Adam's farm! free advertising..?!

[9degrees] 21/1/2013 17:24

results this week must be good with this rise !