Strong year forecast

Sep 6 2008 by Karen Dent, The Journal

CARR’S Milling’s annual pre-tax profits are predicted to more than double to at least £12.5m thanks to an exceptional year.

The Cumbrian agriculture, food and engineering group, which suffered in 2007 from the rising cost of wheat and fuel, has benefited from the strong underlying market for agricultural profits and some one-off stock profits.

The fourth positive trading update in just over three months has seen the company’s profit expectation rise from a predicted £8.6m at the end of May to no less than £12.5m for the year to the end of August, compared to 2007’s £5.5m pre-tax profit.

Revenue for the year is expected to come in at around £350m compared to £253m 12 months earlier.

Much of the late gains were due to one-off factors, according to analyst Nicola Mallard of Investec Securities, who said: “We expect the group to make some good progress. Agricultural markets might prove to be less volatile on pricing but are still showing solid demand.”