Wynnstay Share Discussion Threads

[gateside] 21/6/2006 09:04

Agricultural supplies company Wynnstay Group PLC's posted a
sharp fall in underlying profits for the first half to April 30, blaming tough
times for the farming industry, partly due to changes in EU subsidy payments.
The company said underlying pretax profit dropped to 1.31 mln stg from 1.99
mln stg a year earlier as sales fell to 52.40 mln stg from 55.02 mln.
"We expect some recovery within our core agricultural activity in our second
half, however, the impact of higher energy costs, particularly on the fertiliser
business, will continue," said chairman John Davies.
The company said it is reinstating its interim dividend with a payment of
1.75 pence a share.
The chairman said the start of the new EU Single Farm Subsidy Payment and
rising energy prices had made trading this year difficult.
But looking ahead, he added: "The group continues to look for acquisitions,
continuing the strategy of acting as a consolidator within the agriculture
supply industry, whilst at the same time developing our joint venture activities
which should guarantee a profit stream from outside the core business."

[linhur] 24/5/2006 20:39

Looks like we are still heading downhill.

Might be interesting at sub 200p with Laxey on board

[scumdog] 12/4/2006 15:00

SP looking a bit weak, think may be I'll sell afterall.

[linhur] 11/4/2006 15:32

Gateside

75% of farmers still not been paid Single Farm Payment so the pressure on debts must be getting pretty significant.Fortunately crops are growing with the spring weather so fertiliser sales may have picked up a bit.

Looks like share price could easily go to 200/220p level in the next few months but I am sure it will rebound in 2007.

kind regards
linhur

[gateside] 11/4/2006 08:20

Testing 240p support again... be interesting to see if it holds this time.

[scumdog] 24/3/2006 11:22

Welcome move up today - so far.

[gateside] 23/3/2006 22:45

Linhur... Many thanks for the excellent post.

Agree with your summary. Which to me suggests their might still be further share weakness to come, but long term Wynnstay is still a sound investment.

[marvelman] 23/3/2006 21:41

Many thanks Linhur for that highly informative post.This is a stock for investment and patience.How many of us have the latter.

[linhur] 23/3/2006 21:36

I went to the well attended AGM today.It is difficult in farming these days.However there is a lot of Board experience - the MD has been there 26 years !! The Joint Ventures are definitely helping them - particularly Wybro the housing activity who are currently selling one house per week (about 40 per year)

Also good prospects for Foxmoor - the plant specialist who are using the "City Gardener" (TV series) as there marketing ruse.Sales here are expected to go from 1.75mill in 2006 to £2.5mill in 2007 and £3.5mill in 2008.Contracts with the large DIYs such as Homebase.

Youngs (JV) have their new Mollichop factory working properly now and churning out high quality horse food.

They seemed to be pleased with the outcome of the W J Pye demise where Wynnstay joined with Carrs Billington and Welsh Feed Producers to rationalise the over capacity in animal feeds by shutting three mills but splitting the sales that accrued from PYe between the JV participants.

They are building a new blending plant in North Wales with the help of a large EEc grant which justifies the project and which will help on the logistics front as they deliver from Shrewsbury and Llansantffraid to North Wales but return empty loads.

It is interesting that two of the non executives are in fact running two of the JV's.

The problem with the large drop in fertiliser sales is that (1) cold spring - so crops not growing and therefore a couple of sprays will be missed, (2) fertiliser prices at their highest for 20/25 years due to high energy prices and (3)farmers not received the Single Payment under the new subsidy system which was promised in January and has still not been paid. A lot of farmers are over the top with the banks but are unable to do anything until Gordon Brown pays out.

Generally they are quite optimistic for the future over a 5 year outlook as they are so diversified. I expect 2006 will be a bad year but things will look up in 2007.

Regards
Linhur

[scumdog] 23/3/2006 16:16

240p reached.

[marvelman] 23/3/2006 12:18

It will take a lot of selling to get this below the 2.40 support.Anything below this would be below NAV (Excluding goodwill).

[Abuse team] 23/3/2006 11:03

Post removed by ADVFN

[scumdog] 23/3/2006 11:00

Yes. I should have sold at 257p last week. However, I haven't invested a significant amount so I'm going to use this as a learning exercise. Probably kidding myself - lol!

I reckon the company is valued on the low side anyway and a 10% drop in the share price will not make too much of a dent in my portfolio!

This company doesn't look like it attracts much interest from short term traders so there isn't the kind of "froth" in the share price one finds with many stocks.

Infact, I sense the company has in the main a very loyal shareholder base.
True, a few sells will come in today - that's to be expected. The share price will fall back to 240p - where it goes from there is up for debate.

[gateside] 23/3/2006 10:42

The market seems to punish shares at present where trading is not that good, even if it is not the companies direct fault.

Looking at this more closely, am beginning to feel that this in fact will fall even further than my earlier suggestion of 230p

[scumdog] 23/3/2006 10:16

Not surprised by the AGM statement. Was going to sell beforehand as I thought share price would fall back a bit. However, the company's mkt value is not "stretched" and the Chairman's comments warned of this in the January results release. There's no denying it's a set back and in the short term I don't think the shares will progress. Management will be judged on how they respond to the challenge.

[marvelman] 23/3/2006 09:05

Chart says no Gateside.I would to think 2.40.Its now a very diversified business and what a balance sheet.Very confident personally.

regards

[gateside] 23/3/2006 08:26

Not a very good AGM Statement...can see these falling back to 230p as a result

[linhur] 03/3/2006 13:22

Puzzled by Laxey's interest in WYNN. I do not see what they can bring to the party other than wholesale nuisance value. Pleased to see all the directors have taken up all the options and propose to keep them.

[gateside] 26/1/2006 21:22

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Agricultural products manufacturer Wynnstay posted a rise in annual pre-tax profit and upped its dividend payment 11%.

Chairman, John Davies, said, "The year has been a challenging one for our industry as a whole. The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy is changing farmers' traditional buying patterns and the substantial rises in fuel and power prices have adversely affected costs".

Pre-tax profits came in at £2.87m up 9% from £2.64m a year earlier. Turnover slipped to £100.81m down from £103.43m. The dividend increased by 11% to 5.0p from 4.5p in 2004.

Davies added, "While there is no doubt that market conditions are difficult, we are confident that our broadly based spread of businesses and strong balance sheet give us significant advantages within our sector."

[scumdog] 26/1/2006 11:02

First glance at results shows this to be a well run company and the shares are good value. I'm in.

[getscenic] 05/11/2005 15:45

I think by mr lee's exit that there will be no marriage between WYN and CRM.
Mr lee may have jumped ship early in my view. If we do get the harsh winter that is predicted, we could expect an up lift in feed sales, and increased fuel demand.
I am desperately trying to find an old article about mr lee and his quote regarding WYN. It runs along the lines of WYN being a safe bet long term, with the added interest of a bid or merger. From memory he has held for about 2 years, maybe thats long term to him, or just enough for the taxman.
As you can see my love affair with mr lee and his ft articles died sometime ago. As a tipster he has a loyal fan base, but he has a nastey habit of tipping shares on my watch list, the herd move in and take it way out of my entry price, and amazingly he jumps out some 9-12 months later after giving a couple of glowing reports to keep the interest up.
It's interesting that I have been to the last 3 agm's and never come across the famous mr lee , who by his own admission has very close links with the companies he invests in!
good luck all you holders, maybe see you in Shrewsbury next year!

[getscenic] 08/10/2005 07:18

the market has forseen the dilution. 800,000 new shares floating around will peg back any rise.
What will be interesting is to see if anybody will pick these up.

[gateside] 07/10/2005 22:01

Pye Bibby feed unit split in JV
07/10/2005 00:00:00
Farmers Weekly
The feed milling business of now-defunct family firm Pye Bibby is being split three ways in a joint venture between competing animal feed manufacturers.

Pye Bibby collapsed into administration in July with debts reportedly topping 25m and was immediately bought by Carrs Billington.

But the Cumbria-based firm has now sold 25% stakes in a renamed Bibby Agriculture to farm inputs supplier Wynnstay and Welsh Feed Producers. They each paid just 15,000, pledging financing worth a further 580,000.

Bibby's Shrewsbury mill will still close, with its 110,000t production evenly split among the three companies, which will produce Bibby brand feeds from their own mills.

Bernard Harris, managing director of Wynnstay, said the deal would cut costs straight away by ensuring that each mill only supplied the farms nearest to it. "Haulage is the one area where we can immediately effect savings."

[gateside] 29/9/2005 12:44

Hopefully this will put a floor under the share price


Current Trading

The Board of Wynnstay is confident that despite recent cost rises in fuel and
electricity, the Company will achieve market expectations for the current
financial year before taking into account the provision for reorganisation
associated with the Bibby Agriculture joint venture.

[gateside] 29/9/2005 12:43

Establishment of Joint Feed Distribution Company and Trading Update

Wynnstay Group Plc ("Wynnstay"), the agricultural supply and rural retail
business is pleased to announce that it has entered into a joint venture with
two other animal feed producers to establish a joint distribution and sales
company for the efficient supply of animal feeds in Wales and the borders.

This new company, which will trade as Bibby Agriculture Ltd, has acquired the
trade previously carried out by W & J Pye Ltd in this area prior to that
business going into administration.

Bibby Agriculture Ltd is owned 50% by Carrs Billington Agriculture Ltd (a joint
venture between Carr's Milling Industries Plc & Edward Billington & Sons Ltd);
25% by Wynnstay; and 25% by Welsh Feed Producers Ltd, a company in which
Wynnstay has a 50% shareholding.

The new company will maximise the sales opportunities in the area while
consolidating production facilities and achieving economies of scale in the key
area of distribution. Each of the parties will provide production facilities
from their respective mills, Stone Mill (Carrs Billington), Llansantffraid Mill
(Wynnstay) and Carmarthen Mill (Welsh Feed Producers). The Shrewsbury factory,
previously operated by W & J Pye Ltd, will cease production at the end of
September.

Whilst the initial equity investment made by Wynnstay is only #15,000, each
party has subscribed a further #580,000 for Redeemable Preference Shares in the
new company to finance the business.

This is an important strategic move for Wynnstay in that it will help to reduce
the oversupply of animal feed that continues to affect the industry, assist in
economic fleet management and enable the company to manage the supply of feed in
a more efficient manner. Wynnstay will handle distribution for the new venture,
operating an increased fleet of vehicles.

The additional feed volumes available to Wynnstay's production and distribution
activities introduced by this initiative will require a reorganisation in these
functions and to recognise the potential costs associated with these changes,
the Company will be taking a provision of #250,000 in the current financial year
ending 31st October 2005.

Bernard Harris, Managing Director of Wynnstay said today "This is an excellent
outcome for us and for the other parties to the joint company. At Wynnstay we
are pleased to have played a pivotal role in the strategic restructuring of the
UK animal feed supply industry. The new grouping will manufacture and distribute
some 420,000 tonnes of compound and blended feeds annually."