Wynnstay Regulatory News (WYN)

20 Mar 2007 07:00

Wynnstay Group PLC20 March 2007 WYN.L WYNNSTAY GROUP PLC Annual General Meeting Statement Wynnstay Group plc ("Wynnstay" or "the Group") will be holding its AnnualGeneral Meeting this morning. In his address to shareholders, Chairman, Mr JohnDavies will make the following statement, "Over the course of the last financial year, we continued to make furtherprogress in our business development strategy, despite challenging marketconditions. Considerable financial investment has been made across ouractivities, with the purchase of Glasson Grain in August 2006, our largestacquisition to date; the ongoing store refurbishment programme; the opening ofour new dedicated blended feed plant at Rhosfawr and the integration of theQuins Farm Supplies business into our stores at Newtown and Welshpool. Furtherinvestment has been made in many of our Joint Venture activities, which adduseful additional income streams. Our investments place the Group in a stronger position for the future and, moreimmediately, to benefit fully from improving market conditions. Following thesharp decrease in fertiliser sales last year - as the Single Farm Payment systemand record high fertiliser prices impacted farmers' buying patterns - I ampleased to report that we have seen fertiliser ordering return to morenormalised patterns and there was a marked rise in demand in January toFebruary. On a like-for-like basis, fertiliser orders for the period November toFebruary are 10% ahead of the same period last year, and in line with budget. Inaddition, the Glasson Grain acquisition adds considerably to fertiliser volumes.While the high price of wheat will impact on feed margins, the balanced natureof our business should help to alleviate the impact, not least because ourarable division experienced strong demand for cereal seeds during the importantautumn planting season. In January, we announced the launch of a new stand-alone pet store format, "Justfor Pets", targeting the fast growing pet products market. I am pleased toreport that the first of these stores remains on course to be opened in Telfordin April 2007, with a further two stores planned during the year. We are also announcing today the planned retirement of Bernard Harris, theGroup's Managing Director. After 28 years with the business, Bernard Harris willbe retiring in May 2008. The search for his successor has already commenced andwe will make any necessary announcement in due course. In order to ensure asmooth transition, there will be a period of handover ahead of Bernard'sdeparture. With the recovery in fertiliser sales, the start to the current financial yearhas been encouraging. The integration of Glasson Grain is progressing well andthe business is on track to be earnings enhancing in the current year. Acrossthe Group, sales are in line with budget and we remain optimistic about theoutcome for the current financial year." For further details, please contact: Wynnstay Group plc Bernard Harris, Managing Director T: 01691 828512 Paul Roberts, Finance Director Biddicks Katie Tzouliadis T: 020 7448 1000 WH Ireland Limited David Youngman T: 0161 832 2174 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange