Slump in fertiliser prices sees revenues at Origin Enterprises drop 25.7%

Origin Enterprises has announced plans to buy back €20 million of its shares despite a slump in first quarter revenues caused by the ongoing softening of feed and fertiliser prices.

In a trading update on Thursday, the agri-services group, which supplies on-farm services, crop technologies and inputs, including fertilisers to farmers, said its UK and Ireland division saw a decrease in underlying crop input volumes of 4 per cent in the three months to the end of October, the first quarter of its fiscal year.

Ahead of its AGM in Dublin on Thursday, the group said a late harvest and “challenging weather” conspired to delay the autumn and winter planting season in parts of the UK.

In Europe, Origin said drought conditions in Romania have also led to planting delays although there was a “satisfactory start to the year” overall with good crop establishment observed in Poland.

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Latin America was Origin’s best performing region over the three month period, with underlying volumes up 54.7 per cent.

Overall group revenues declined by 25.7 per cent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year amid an ongoing slump in feed and fertiliser raw material prices after the spike that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

“Overall, the first quarter delivered a solid start, with growth in underlying volumes despite delayed plantings and a later harvest in the northern hemisphere,” said Sean Coyle, Origin Enterprises chief executive. “The continued strong performance of our Latin American business combined with the growing contribution from our Amenity, Environmental and Ecology division, is helping to offset the impact of more challenging planting conditions in Europe.”

Mr Coyle also confirmed the company would seek approval for a new €20 million share buyback scheme at its AGM on Monday after conducting one last year.