Origin Enterprises has reported pre-tax profits of €58.3m for the year to the end of July, down slightly from the €58.8m the previous year. Despite the drop, the results were ahead of expectations, Origin said.
Revenues for the year fell by 11% to €1.3 billion from €1.5 billion, while operating profits declined by 2.5% to €77.4m from €79.4m.
The company said that the improving outlook for farm incomes had resulted in a return to more normal demand patterns across agri-services.
It said that while the trading environment for food looks challenging, sustained progress in making cost cuts and the changing of brands with consumers' current spending patterns contributed to a 'resilient' result.
The company recently set up a new company called Valeo Foods to combine its food division with the Irish food company Batchelors. It said this move is an important repositioning of the group's food interests.
Origin said it has increased its dividend by 12.5% to nine cent per ordinary share while it saw a reduction of 27% in net debt after a strong cash flow performance.
'Origin performed ahead of expectations delivering strong cash flow and growing earnings per share following a very good second-half performance,' commented the company's CEO Tom O'Mahony.
