Origin Enterprises plc

 

Preliminary Results Statement

 

Strong FY25 performance delivered adjusted EPS growth of 12.8%; Group Operating profit up 10.1%

 

Dublin, London, 23 September 2025: Origin Enterprises plc ('Origin' or 'the Group'), the international group shaping the future of sustainable agriculture and land use, today announces its preliminary results for the financial year ended 31 July 2025 ('FY25').

 

FY25 Highlights:

·    Adjusted diluted EPS to 54.21c (FY24: 48.06c); up 12.8%, ahead of guidance.

·    Group operating profit³ increased 10.1% to €99.0m, with strong organic growth across both operating segments and our share of profit from our associates and joint venture.

·    Operating margin⁶ improved to 4.3% (FY24: 4.1%), supported by a recovery in Agriculture and growth of the higher margin Living Landscapes business.

·    Strategic acquisitions supported earnings diversification and growth, with the addition of five specialist ecology consultancies and a leading online distributor of garden and turf products.

·    Exceptional gains of €2.1m (net of tax), mainly from property revaluation and joint venture asset disposals, net of legacy intangible asset write-downs.

·    Robust balance sheet and strong cash generation and conversion to support future growth.

o Year-end net debt of €70.8m (FY24: €71.7m) with Net Bank Debt/EBITDA at 0.58x (FY24: 0.66x).

o Strong cash generation of €60.8 million (FY24: €6.2 million); Free cash conversion ratio of 117.9% (target: 80%).

·    €19.7 million returned to shareholders via completion of our most recent share buyback programme and €17.8 million in dividends.

·    Proposed final dividend of 14.15c per share; total FY25 dividend 17.30c, an increase of 3% on the prior year, representing a payout ratio of 36.5%.

 

Origin's Chief Executive Officer, Sean Coyle, commented: "We delivered a very strong performance in FY25 with growth across both our Agriculture and Living Landscapes segments. Total Group Operating profit of €99.0m is up 10.1%, with adjusted diluted EPS of 54.21c, up 12.8% year-on-year. Cash generation was also strong, funding investment, acquisitions and shareholder returns, while maintaining leverage below 1.0x EBITDA.

 

In Agriculture, operating profit increased 2.5% to €73.4m. Although weather conditions in the key autumn planting timeframe were much improved on the prior year, there were challenges later in the year across the regions, including the driest spring in over 50 years in the UK. With grain and oilseed prices weakening throughout the year, farmers were more selective in their spending on inputs. With a strong focus on customers and our product offering, the Agriculture business remained resilient delivering market share growth over the prior year. We opened a new glasshouse trials facility during the year at Throws Research Centre to fast-track trials and innovation on biosolutions, and we remain on course to deliver our FY32 science-based targets, embedding best practices within agricultural systems while scaling nature-based solutions in Living Landscapes.

 

Strong growth in Ireland and the UK was supported by improved winter planting areas and increased input demand for animal and soil nutrition. Continental Europe was mixed, with good growth in Poland offset by a reduced contribution from Romania, which was impacted by constrained farmer credit following two years of drought conditions in the region. Underlying performance in our Latin America business was in line with prior year, against a challenging market environment, with reported performance impacted by lower valuation of the Brazilian Real. Our Joint Venture feed business also delivered a very strong year driven by sustained high demand for feed, supported by good output prices for dairy, beef, poultry and eggs.

 

Living Landscapes now represents 18.4% of Group earnings and had another impressive year, with operating profit up 39.1% to €16.6m. Growth was delivered both through organic expansion, and further acquisitions which broaden our product and service offering across our Sports, Landscapes and Environmental businesses. The division continues to expand its presence in higher-margin, faster growing markets, strengthening its role as a key pillar of the company's future growth.

 

Origin maintains leading positions in the majority of our key markets, and, with a robust balance sheet and outstanding teams, we are well-positioned to execute our medium-term strategy and deliver sustained value for shareholders."

 

Financial Summary
	FY25 €'000	FY24 €'000	Change	Constant Currency %
Group revenue	2,109,146	2,045,701	3.1%	2.7%
Operating profit1	89,946	83,516	7.7%	8.7%
Associates and joint venture2	9,048	6,421	40.9%	39.6%
Total group operating profit3	98,994	89,937	10.1%	10.9%
Finance expense, net	(19,960)	(18,566)	7.5%	6.5%
Profit before tax1	79,034	71,371	10.7%	12.1%
Taxation	(18,445)	(16,180)	14.0%
Adjusted net profit	60,589	55,191	9.8%
Basic EPS (cent)	49.59	36.73	35.0%
Adjusted diluted EPS (cent)4	54.21	48.06	12.8%
Return on capital employed (%)	12.0%	11.2%	80bps
Group net debt5	(70,843)	(71,686)	843
Operating margin6 (%)	4.3%	4.1%	20bps
Free cash flow (€'000)	60,764	6,175	54,559
Dividend per ordinary share (cent)	17.30c	16.80c

 

 

Adjusted net profit reconciliation	FY25 €'000	FY24 €'000
Reported net profit	52,753	40,428
Amortisation of non-ERP intangible assets	12,758	13,312
Tax on amortisation of non-ERP related intangible assets	(2,815)	(2,864)
Exceptional items (net of tax)	(2,107)	4,315
Adjusted net profit	60,589	55,191

 

Group revenue

Group revenue increased by 3.1% to €2,109.1 million on a reported basis and 2.7% on a constant currency basis. Excluding crop marketing, revenue increased 4.8%, with volume growth of 4.3%, acquisitions contributing 1.0%, currency 0.3% and pricing -0.8%.

 

Operating profit¹

Operating profit¹ increased by 7.7% to €90.0 million (FY24: €83.5 million). Agriculture delivered a 2.5% increase to €73.4 million, while Living Landscapes grew 39.1% to €16.6 million, growing its contribution of operating profit to 18.4% (FY24: 14.2%). Of this Living Landscapes growth, circa. one-third was organic and two-thirds acquisition-led, with a marginal currency benefit. Group operating margin improved by 20bps to 4.3% (FY24: 4.1%), reflecting the increasing contribution from the higher margin Living Landscapes business.

 

Associates and joint venture²

Origin's share of the profit after tax from its associates and joint venture was €9.0 million (FY24: €6.4 million), with strong performance driven by sustained feed demand across Ireland, supported by firm output pricing in dairy, beef, poultry, pork and eggs.

 

Finance costs and net bank debt⁴

Net debt⁴ at 31 July 2025 was reduced by €0.9 million to €70.8 million (FY24: Net debt⁴ of €71.7 million). Strong cash generation during the year financed net working capital outflow of €17.8 million, including previously suspended fertiliser payments of €23.5 million, an acquisition spend of €17.8 million, capital expenditure of €29.5 million and returns to shareholders through share buy backs and dividends of €19.7 million.

 

Net finance costs amounted to €20.0million, which represents an increase of €1.4 million on the prior year, primarily reflecting the impact of increased average debt year-on-year.

 

On 31 January 2025, the Group agreed a new five-year €440 million sustainability-linked revolving credit facility. The new facility represents an increase of €40 million on the existing facility and extends the facility to 31 January 2030. The facility also has two further extension options of one year each, and a further €100 million uncommitted loan facility.

 

At year end the Group's key banking covenants were as follows:

 

	Banking Covenant	FY25	FY24
Net debt to EBITDA	Maximum 3.5	0.58	0.66
EBITDA to net interest	Minimum 3.0	7.21	6.51

 

Working capital

A working capital outflow of €17.8 million was primarily driven by the payment of €23.5 million relating to supplier amounts which had been previously suspended in accordance with international sanctions imposed by authorities in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A €5.7 million balance remains to be paid to entities connected to sanctioned parties.

 

Adjusted diluted earnings per share ('EPS')³

Adjusted diluted EPS³ of 54.21 cent per share (FY24: 48.06 cent), represented an increase of 12.8% on a reported basis and 14.4% on a constant currency basis.

 

Free cash flow

	FY25 €'m	FY24 €'m
Free cash flow ('FCF')	60.8	6.2
Free cash flow conversion ratio	117.9%	12.7%

 

The Group generated FCF in the year of €60.8 million (FY24: €6.2 million) representing a FCF conversion of 117.9%, primarily driven by disciplined working capital management, and stronger operating profit in FY25.

 

FCF is the total of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation (excluding depreciation of IFRS 16 Right of Use leased assets), amortisation of non-ERP related intangible assets and exceptional items of wholly owned businesses ('EBITDA') adjusted to take account of interest, tax, routine capital expenditure, working capital cash flows and dividends received.

 

FCF conversion ratio is FCF as a percentage of profit after tax of wholly owned businesses, excluding exceptional items and amortisation of non-ERP related intangible assets.

 

Return on capital employed
	FY25	FY24
Return on capital employed ('ROCE')	12.0%	11.2%

 

The Group delivered a ROCE of 12.0%, an increase of 80 bps versus FY24 and in line with our target range of 12-15%. This performance was largely driven by improved operating profit in FY25. ROCE is a key performance indicator for the Group and represents Group earnings before interest, tax, and amortisation of non-ERP related intangible assets from continuing operations ('EBITA') taken as a percentage of the Group Net Assets. For the purposes of this calculation:

 

(i)	EBITA includes the net profit contribution from associates and joint venture (after interest and tax) and excludes the impact of exceptional and non-recurring items; and
(ii)	Group Net Assets means total assets less total liabilities as shown in the annual report excluding net debt, derivative financial instruments, put option liabilities, accumulated amortisation of non-ERP related intangible assets and taxation related balances. Net Assets are also adjusted to reflect the average level of acquisition investment spend and the average level of working capital for the accounting period.

 

Exceptional items

Exceptional items net of tax amounted to income of €2.1 million in the year (FY24: charge of €4.3 million).

 

	FY25 €'m	FY24 €'m
Acquisition related items	(2.9)	2.0
Ukraine related costs	(1.1)	(4.5)
Redundancy and restructuring costs	(0.6)	(3.5)
Fair value uplift of investment properties	5.7	-
Write down of intangible assets	(6.5)	-
Arising in associates and joint venture	7.5	1.7
Total exceptional items, net of tax	2.1	(4.3)

 

Acquisition related items in FY24 include adjustments to the fair value of contingent consideration. Operations in Ukraine were closed in FY24, costs in respect of FY25 relate primarily to costs associated with sanction payments. Redundancy and restructuring costs were largely driven by restructuring within Agrii UK to position the business for future growth. Fair value adjustment relates to the increase in the value of investment properties following external valuations completed in the year. Write down of intangible assets relates to the brand IP connected with legacy UK acquisitions which following review in the year were adjusted to recoverable value. Associates and joint venture income relate primarily to the gain on disposal of property.

 

Dividends

The Directors propose a final dividend of 14.15 cent per ordinary share for approval at the AGM on 20 November 2025, bringing the total dividend payment for FY25 to 17.30 cent. Subject to shareholder approval at the AGM, the final dividend will be paid on 6 February 2026 to shareholders on the register on 16 January 2026.

 

Board changes

We are delighted to have further strengthened our Board in FY25, with the addition of two new Non-Executive Directors. Dick Hordijk joined the Board effective 16 October 2024, and Jenny Davis-Peccoud joined the Board on 22 November 2024, each bringing extensive sector experience to Origin. Christopher Richards is currently serving his final term and will retire from the Board 1 October 2025. After almost ten years as a Non-Executive Director, including three years as Group Chairman, Gary Britton has informed the Board of his intention to retire from his role as Group Chairman and step down from the Board of Origin in advance of the 2026 AGM. The process to appoint a suitable successor, led by the Nominations Committee, is in process under the leadership of the Senior Independent Director.

 

Innovation and Sustainability

In FY25, Origin expanded its environmental services within Living Landscapes, further strengthening its role in biodiversity and nature-based solutions. The Group continued to advance its carbon reduction agenda in line with validated SBTi commitments, supported by investment in data quality and digital platforms to measure and manage emissions. Innovation was accelerated through the opening of a new glasshouse trials facility at Throws Research Centre to fast-track biosolutions.

 

Corporate development 

During the year, Origin invested €17.8m in the completion of six acquisitions, further expanding the scale and capability of the Living Landscapes segment. In Environmental, the acquisitions of Avian Ecology, Bowland Ecology, Brooks Ecological, GE Consulting and Scott Cawley created one of the UK and Ireland's largest ecological advisory platforms, with 175 ecologists and a combined team of 240 employees providing end-to-end capability from baseline surveys to habitat creation and long-term monitoring. The addition of Elixir Garden Supplies, a leading online distributor of garden and turf products in the UK, broadened the division's reach into consumer markets alongside its strong professional offering.

Collectively, these acquisitions enhance the technical depth of our offering, extend our geographic coverage, and reinforce Living Landscapes' position as a leading UK provider of integrated, nature-based solutions - directly supporting the Group's ambition to diversify its earnings base and increase the profit contribution from structurally higher-margin businesses.

 

Investor relations

Origin's strategy is to create long-term shareholder value, supported by regular and transparent communication with capital market participants. Engagement with institutional investors is led by the executive management team, including the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, the Managing Director of Living Landscapes, and the Head of Investor Relations. In FY25, the Group engaged with 147 institutional investors through in-person and virtual conferences, roadshows and dedicated meetings, ensuring broad access to management across the shareholder, and prospective shareholder, base.

 

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The AGM is scheduled to be held on 20 November 2025 at 11.00am (UK/Ireland time) in the InterContinental Dublin, Simmonscourt Road, Dublin 4, Ireland. 

 

1	Before amortisation of non-ERP intangible assets and exceptional items
2	Profit after interest and tax before exceptional items
3	Before amortisation of non-ERP intangible assets and exceptional items and excluding the contribution from associates and joint venture
4	Before amortisation of non-ERP intangible assets, net of related deferred tax (2025: €9.9m, 2024: €10.4m) and exceptional items, net of tax (2025: gain €2.1m, 2024: loss €4.3m)
5	Group net debt before impact of IFRS 16 Leases
6	Operating margin represents operating profit as a percentage of Group Revenue