Simpsons Malt Ltd has reported an increase in profits from 2021 to 2022, from £7.1m to £9.5m. Turnover was up from £214.2m to £273.8m.
During the financial year, to 31st December, the company built on the benefits of having acquired the grain merchant business of WN Lindsay Ltd in 2021. This provided additional storage infrastructure and allowed the company to collect record volumes of malting barley direct from its increased number of growers.
The merchanting division, overall, experienced an excellent year, with strong demand for all crop inputs and feedstuffs.
On the malting side, distilling malt volumes made up a substantial part of the overall traded volume, and demand from this sector remained resilient, with year-on-year growth expected to continue into 2023.
The demand for brewing malt, meanwhile, was steady, albeit slowing slightly as breweries faced increased operating costs. That, combined with higher malting barley values — a result of the conflict in Ukraine — and increased interest costs, meant that profit margins declined in the final quarter of the year.
In 2022, there was:
- an investment of more than £4.3m in tangible fixed assets, including a new grain dryer at its Craigswalls Grain Store
- improvement in power and kilning capacity at its Tweed Valley Maltings headquarters in Berwick-upon-Tweed
- increased storage capacity at its Tivetshall Maltings in Norfolk
- and a minority investment in Yaregrain plc, to improve its service and barley storage offering to malting barley growers in Norfolk.
The company also assisted its workers during the cost-of-living crisis, with a £1,000 payment made to all full-time colleagues in August 2022. More than £78,000 was donated to various good causes local to the company’s eight sites during the year.
“In a year of global uncertainty, we’re delighted to be able to report a strong set of financial results, which can be attributed to prudent decision making, careful cost management, and a focus on value added trading activities,” said Tim McCreath, managing director of Simpsons Malt.
“With the conflict in Ukraine ongoing and through witnessing the impact this has had on both grain and energy values, as a business we remain mindful of how geopolitical events — and other risks and uncertainties — can impact us on a day-to-day basis.
“However, with demand from the distilling sector continuing to grow, and the benefits of our vertically integrated supply chain from crop input supply through to malt delivery, prospects for both the malting and agricultural merchanting divisions of the business remain positive.”
