Origin, which provides agronomy advice, crop inputs and digital agricultural solutions, recorded an operating profit of €83.5m for the year ended July 31. This was down from €90.8m reported in its previous financial year.
Operating profit in the group’s agriculture division was down 10.1pc year-on-year to €71.6m. Origin attributed this fall to “adverse weather during key application periods,” particularly in the Irish and UK markets.
As a result, the group reduced staff numbers in its UK agronomy business.
The group also recorded a 7.1pc rise in operating profits in its living landscapes division during the financial year.
This division reported operating profit of €11.9m, with growth driven by acquisitions.
Group revenue fell 16.7pc to €2bn following lower global feed and fertiliser raw materials pricing. This was partly offset by a 7.1pc increase in volumes driven by a recovery in fertiliser demand, as well as strong feed volumes.
This was particularly evident in the second half of its financial year as volume growth rose to 12.7pc. The group pointed to an improvement in demand for feed and fertiliser during this period, as well as growth in crop protection volumes due to late season applications.
The group also spent €44.3m throughout the year on acquisitions, while it also invested a further €34.1m into its agriculture division.
This included the construction of a new fertiliser plant in Poland and a new blending plant and warehouse in the UK, as well as the expansion of production facilities in Brazil.
The company’s board has now proposed a final dividend of 13.65 cent per share. Origin Enterprises also completed a €20m share buyback programme in the period.
“Following a solid Q4 performance, supported by strong late applications, Origin delivered an FY24 operating profit of €83.5m and an adjusted earnings per share of 48.06 cent, which is at the upper end of our Q3 guidance range, chief executive Sean Coyle said.
“This result is a significant improvement on the last challenging weather year experienced in FY20 and that is testament to the growth in fertiliser and feed operations, Central Europe and LATAM performance and the Group’s ongoing diversification and expansion into living landscapes.”