The Company has published its audited results for the financial year ended 31 August 2024, marking a pivotal year of transformation and strategic realignment.
Over the past 12 months, the Group has taken significant steps to sharpen its focus on its core Agriculture Division, while progressing the planned divestment of its Engineering Division. This strategic shift reflects Carr’s commitment to building a more agile, focused business with a clear path to long-term value creation
Financial Performance
The Group reported Like-for-Like (LFL) revenue growth of 2.7%, reaching £148.0m (FY23: £144.1m), with adjusted operating profit up 11.5% to £8.9m. Net cash increased to £4.5m (FY23: £4.2m), reflecting continued cash generation across the Group.
However, the year also included significant adjusting items of £14.6m, including £7.4m of non-cash charges, primarily related to the Group’s transformation efforts. As a result, statutory operating loss was £5.8m, compared to a profit of £2.0m in FY23.
Performance varied across divisions:
- The Engineering Division grew revenue by 18.8% and adjusted operating profit by 36.5%.
- The Agriculture Division saw a revenue decline of 6.0% and adjusted operating profit decline of 17.1%, driven by challenging trading in key markets and costs associated with business integration and turnaround efforts.
- A final dividend of 2.85p per share has been proposed, maintaining the full-year dividend at 5.2p per share, in line with FY23.
A Strategic Pivot to Agriculture
FY24 was a year of reshaping the Group around its core strength: agriculture. With a new leadership team in place and a clear focus on value creation, the Company is transitioning into a more agile, focused business serving the needs of extensive grazing markets around the world.
- This renewed strategic focus is centred on three priorities:
- Enhancing operating margins through efficiencies and simplification
- Driving profitable growth within existing product lines
- Entering new and underserved geographies where demand for ruminant supplementation is growing
The US showed mixed results, with recovery in the north but ongoing challenges in the south. The Company exited underperforming sites in Nevada, New York, and New Zealand, and began a turnaround at Animax, contributing to a 19% drop in central costs.
Entering FY25, the Group is leaner, more focused, and well-positioned to drive growth, with the Engineering Division sale in progress and a renewed focus on agriculture.