Wynnstay trades in line YTD, confirms final dividend

Agricultural supplies group Wynnstay said on Tuesday that trading in the first four months of the year ending 31 October had been in line with management expectations.

Wynnstay stated farmer sentiment had continued to improve, buoyed by higher farmgate prices and greater clarity over the future direction of UK farming, following the trade agreement with the European Union and the passage into law of the agriculture bill.

The AIM-listed group said feed sales and sales in its specialist agricultural merchanting division during the period was ahead of last year but, as expected, arable sales were down on the same period, principally reflecting lower winter cereal seed volumes, as farmers utilised the large quantities of unsown seed still on farms after last year's exceptionally poor winter planting season and reduced grain trading volumes.

"As an essential service provider, we continue to maintain full operations, and I would like to thank all colleagues for their hard work as we provide our full support to customers. With the vaccine programme rolling out, we look forward to a return to more normal trading conditions," said Wyynstay chairman Jim McCarthy.

"The last two months of the first half are important trading months in the seasonal calendar, and we believe that Wynnstay remains well-positioned."

Wynnstay added that the board had confirmed that its proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 October 2020 was 10.00p per share and would be paid on 30 April, taking the total for the year to 14.60p - a 4.3% rise year-on-year.

As of 0955 GMT, Wynnstay shares were up 1.07% at 472.48p.