Origin reports ‘disappointing’ third quarter trading

Origin Enterprises has reported "disappointing" trading for the third quarter, with the group achieving lower revenues across its markets in Ireland, the UK and Poland.

In a trading update this morning, the agri-services company said the months of March and April experienced a return to abnormally cold and sustained wet weather conditions.

“This has led to a combination of increased crop losses, slower crop development and re-saturated ground conditions which have limited infield crop maintenance and spring planting activity,” it said.

The company previous warned, in an interim results announcement on March 10th, that highly adverse weather conditions, combined with a very difficult market backdrop for primary producers, had resulted in increased seasonality with Origin earning all its current year profits in the second half of the financial year.

In the update today, Origin said current seasonal challenges together with the impact of sustained pressures on the incomes and cash flow of primary producers will make for a highly competitive backdrop to trading in the fourth quarter.

The Board said it believes that the full year outturn will be lower than the level previously indicated at the time of the publication of the group’s interim results.