A long-established North East malt company has reported rising turnover and profit after strong performance from both its malting and agricultural sectors.
Berwick’s Simpsons Malt - a fifth-generation, family-owned business which also includes agricultural merchanting divisions McCreath, Simpson & Prentice - saw its turnover rise from £155.6m a year earlier to £168m in 2018.
The company also saw operating profit increase significantly from £8.8m to £11m.
Simpsons attributed the rise in profit and turnover to increased malt sales volumes through increased plant utilisation. The company said it had recovered from a difficult 2018 harvest to secure sufficient raw material for its malting operation.
Managing director Tim McCreath said: “We’re delighted with the performance of the company over the last 12 months with both our malting and merchanting divisions reporting increased contributions.
“Looking ahead to 2020, malt demand in both the distilling and brewing sectors continues to be strong and the prospects for the malting business remain positive.
“The merchanting business faces challenges due to weather patterns in the autumn of 2019 and currently. However, the company’s infrastructure should allow us to mitigate those challenges and enable this side of the business to deliver another positive contribution.”
Founded in 1862, Simpsons is headquartered in Berwick with a second site at Tivetshall St Margaret in Norfolk. The company increased staffing during the year from 263 to 288, with most of the jump coming in its production department.
In the accounts, company secretary Gordon Hogg revealed that the UK had had an exceptional harvest in 2019, both in terms of yield and quality. This had seen cereal values decreasing and, combined with a wet auturm, led to challenging tradition conditions in the second half of the year.
It said lower malting barley costs from the 2019 harvest will reduce 2020 turnover, though it remained confident that margins would remain relatively healthy.
Simpsons said its merchanting business had performed well, with benefits from the company’s integrated supply chain delivering strong farm input sales of fertiliser, seed grain and agrochemicals during the first half of 2019.
