ALEXANDER Inglis & Son, the East Lothian-based grain merchant, has lifted profits by nearly 50 per cent to £2.4 million – despite “subdued” cereal prices in its latest financial year.
The company, owned by former Scotland rugby captain Jim Aitken, booked turnover of £79.3m in the year to December 30, accounts newly filed at Companies House show.
Revenue was broadly in line with the previous year but Mr Aitken said the number did not reflect the increased volumes the merchant handled.
That has been helped by the additional storage Inglis has been acquiring in recent years, with the company now able to store in the region of 400,000 tonnes across various sites.
Mr Aitken said the storage capacity means that the company has “always got our own home we trade into” when there is a surplus in the market.
He said: “You have got to remember that turnover isn’t directly related to the tonnes you sell.
“The prices were well back last year from the previous year, so we are actually turning over in terms of tonnes significantly more than we have in the past. So we have increased share.
“Grain prices were pretty subdued last year – they certainly are this year as well – but we more than made up for that in tonnes handled.”
The accounts for Alexander Inglis were published just days after official figures signalled the 2015 cereal harvest was shaping up to be better than feared. While estimates suggest the cereal harvest yield could be the highest for 20 years, farmers warned that grain prices continued to be depressed due to the anticipation of a big supply entering the global wheat market.
Mr Aitken said Scotch whisky industry remains the single biggest destination for Inglis’ grain supplies, with the company having trading relationships with all of the sector’s major players.
He acknowledged there has been some impact in the market from slowing Scotch whisky sales in some export destinations, but has no doubts over the sector’s long-term health.
Mr Aitken said: “There certainly is an easing off. It hasn’t quite filtered through to us yet, but certainly this year we are seeing a significant difference, especially in wheat.
“Malting barley is still very, very steady and that is what we concentrate on. We specialise in malting barley in a big way because we have got the facilities to handle it.
He added: “These things go through cycles – I’m quite confident it will come again. You have just got to adapt to the market that is there on the day.”
Accounts newly available for Alexander Inglis show that the group’s net asset position increased by £437,000 to £22.2m, which Mr Aitken, the company’s biggest shareholder, said reflected the “profit for the year”.
The accounts show that the average number of staff employed by the company narrowed to 44 from 47, as staff costs dropped to £1.9m from £2.1.
Directors’ remuneration fell to £540,106, compared with £595,030 in the previous financial year.
The latest accounts became available at Companies House as Alexander Inglis presses ahead with its latest housing development in East Lothian.
Inglis began work several months ago on the infrastructure for an initial 1,450 homes at the St Clements Wells development at Wallyford. It could ultimately build as many as 2,200 homes on the site, with the first units expected to be ready next year.
As well as the houses, a primary school and link road also feature in plans for the Wallyford scheme.
Mr Aitken said: “We are in complete charge at the moment, but we will probably get some of the hothouse builders involved. We’ve not need to so far.
“The first houses will be ready in the spring of next year.”
He added: “It’s going well. I do have a partner in it – it is a fairly big operation for us.”
Meanwhile, asked for his assessment of Scotland’s performance in the Rugby World Cup ahead of this weekend’s quarter-final clash with Australia on Sunday, Mr Aitken said: “We’ve had some decent games but we will see how we get on on Sunday! We’ve done well to date.”
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