Openfield maintains profits in volatile marketplace
© Tim Scrivener Tough market conditions during 2022 and early 2023 put pressure on margins at grain marketing co-operative Openfield.
However, the company was still able to achieve a healthy profit.
The company made pre-tax profits of £2.7m in the financial year to 30 June 2023, down marginally on the previous year.
Meanwhile, revenue at the group increased by 20% on the previous year to £806m, while costs of sales reached £762m.
See also: NFU and NFUS pull support for digital grain passports
Openfield chairman Philip Moody said: “Against a background of increased investment in volatile times, I’m pleased to report another year of profitability.
“We’ve also seen excellent results in our grain marketing pools which, coupled with managed risk, continue to demonstrate the value of this marketing option in turbulent markets.”
The co-operative is owned by about 4,000 farmer members and exported a total of 878,000t of grain during the financial year.
It started working with Trinity AgTech in 2023 to look at natural capital and has said that it plans to announce future environmental initiatives and supply chain contracts.