A Llansantffraid agricultural supplier is set to announce strong trading for the previous financial year, it says.

Directors of the Wynnstay Group released a trading update this week ahead of a planned announcement at the end of the month, outlining ‘recovering’ farmer confidence and spending patterns.

The statement said the group expected to report better-than-expected profits after a strong second half to the financial year.

“Trading across both the Agriculture and Specialist Retail Divisions has continued strongly in the second half of the financial year, with farmer confidence and spending patterns continuing to recover as output prices have strengthened,” it said.

“As a result, the Board now expects to report profit before tax and earnings per share for the financial year ahead of current market forecasts.

“Strong feed sales, both direct-to-farm and through Wynnstay’s agricultural retail stores have been a key driver of this better-than-expected performance. Feed volumes and margins benefited from both the improvement in underlying market demand and the extended warm dry summer, which limited forage availability. Fertiliser volumes, which have been expanded through acquisitions within the Glasson business, were also boosted by weather conditions in the final quarter of the financial year, and seed sales were also strong over this period. The integration and turnaround of the stores acquired from the administrators of Countrywide Farmers is proceeding to plan and they are anticipated to make a positive contribution to the Group’s results in 2019.”

The statement added that general agricultural and commodity outlook remains positive, and that the group is “well placed”.

The firm, which operates 59 stores nationwide including Llanidloes, Newtown, Welshpool, and Llanfair Caereinion, was formed in 1918 by tenant farmers of the local Wynnstay estate and was formally constituted as a farmers’ co operative shortly afterwards. It celebrated it’s centenary year in 2018.

The Group says it expects to announce its results for the year towards the end of this month.