Wynnstay Regulatory News (WYN)

18 Mar 2008 07:01

Wynnstay Group PLC18 March 2008 WYN WYNNSTAY GROUP PLC ("Wynnstay" or "the Group") Wynnstay, the agricultural and retail group, will be holding its Annual GeneralMeeting this morning. In his address to shareholders, Chairman, Mr John Davieswill make the following comments on trading, "Over the course of the last financial year, Wynnstay experienced some of themost volatile trading conditions in its history. Against this backdrop, theGroup's trading performance was pleasing, with sales reaching record levels.This was aided by excellent performances from Glasson Group and our graintrading operation. Trading across the Group in the first quarter of the new financial year has beengood. We have seen strong demand for animal feed, with our flagship feed plantat Llansantffraid enjoying record output and early orders for fertilizers are ata much higher level than last year, driven by the anticipation of continuingprice inflation. I am also pleased to report that Glasson Group continues totrade well. The benefits of the agricultural acquisitions we made in 2007,should be reflected in trading this year, particularly in the sale of animalhealth care products and speciality nutrition goods. The acquisition of Wilsons Pet Centres ("Wilsons") in January was a significantstep forward in our objective of developing our pet retailing activities, adding10 pet superstores. We are now beginning the process of rebranding the storesunder our own "Just for Pets" brand and integrating the business so that thesynergies with our core retail business are fully exploited. I am pleased toreport that trading at Wilsons is well ahead of last year's level and in linewith internal budgets. Our twin strategy of acting as a consolidator in the agricultural supply sectorand developing our retail activities, particularly within the pet sector,continues and we see this year as one of further progress." Enquiries: Wynnstay Group plc Bernard Harris, Managing Director T: 016191 828512 Paul Roberts, Finance Director Biddicks Katie Tzouliadis T: 020 7448 1000 WH Ireland Limited David Youngman T: 0161 832 2174(NOMAD) Shore Capital Guy Peters T: 020 7408 4090 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange