The British farmer-owned grain marketing and arable inputs co-operative has reported profits, after tax, of £0.6m for the year to 30 June 2019 (2018: Profit £0.4m), in line with expectations in another challenging year. This increase comes on the back of a year of consolidation as it focussed on delivering improved service and value to both its members and the British food and drink industry customers it’s proud to supply.
Harvest 2018 saw another small crop year which led to high imports of both wheat and maize. However, member committed grain increased to 75% of the total volume handled and turnover increased marginally to £634m. This demonstrates that Openfield continues to fulfil a vital and valuable role in the UK cereals supply chain.
Commenting on this performance, Openfield’s chairman Philip Moody said: “I’m very pleased to see Openfield has maintained and slightly improved its profitability. We have worked hard to improve our member services, delivered excellent marketing results, advanced our own systems and processes, engaged with consumers to improve delivery efficiencies and grown our member commitment – all whilst facing a turbulent grain market as it reacts to low volumes, high imports and volatile demand.”
Openfield continues to be the only farmer owned co-operative that has the scale to access all the major UK and global markets. Its strategy is to work with their members to supply some of the best-known British food and drink brands, aligned to excellent service through an integrated and innovative supply chain.
Openfield performance to June 2019:
- Pre-tax profit of £0.6m compared with £0.4m in 2018;
- Group revenue up 1% to £634m;
- Net assets (exc. pension fund deficit) increased to £25.6m (2018: £24.2m);
- Committed grain increased to 75% up from 72.5% in 2018;
- Operating costs reduced by 4% to £15.0 million (2018 £15.7 million).
