AtlasFram Group, the UK’s leading farm inputs purchasing and crop marketing business, has announced a highly-successful financial year to 30th June 2010, during which it celebrated its 50th anniversary.
The farmers’ cooperative, which has Members throughout the UK, achieved a turnover of £139 million and a group surplus of £28,448 after tax. Volume increases in key product areas, together with a crop marketing alliance with one of the world’s largest millers/oilseed rape crushers, are already producing significant benefits.
Addressing the company’s Annual General Meeting in East Anglia, Chairman Robert Rous stated:
"The Board is delighted with the progress which has been made during the last 12 months, during which AtlasFram increased the level of business transacted with Members in every single product area, which was reflected in a 5% increase, to 182,000, in the number of invoices processed by our Accounts Department.
Turnover was down slightly on the previous year’s £149 million, but this was solely due to significantly lower prices for certain key inputs, particularly fertiliser, electricity and fuel. The AtlasFram Purchasing Team worked hard to achieve preferential market deals on inputs whilst delivering excellent service and value, so we regard this as a very positive development, because it means that our Members actually spent £10 million less on inputs.
"As a farmers’ cooperative, which is entirely owned by the Members, our success is measured not in terms of profitability but through Key Performance Indicators such as effective purchasing, Member satisfaction and operating efficiency. The success of this approach is reflected by the fact that we continue to attract significant numbers of new Members, 39 in the last year, while the high level of commitment from existing Members confirms that we are meeting their requirements.
"Framtrade Ltd, a wholly-owned Group subsidiary continued to increase sales of bulk and bottled LPG gas, fuel, electricity and stock items to the public and other farming groups.
"The AtlasFram Group’s reserves now stand at £2.38 million. This is important to maintain supplier confidence, provide continuing access to credit facilities, allow us to negotiate from a position of financial strength, enable advance payments on grain which Members commit to our marketing pools and benefits all Members through better interest rates than they can obtain from banks.
"During the past year we have continued to make significant progress in terms of developing the business. A key achievement has been to establish a unique marketing alliance with ADM Direct, the purchasing arm of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), one of the world’s major millers and oilseed rape crushers. AtlasFram Members have already benefited from premiums for feed varieties with specifications that enable them to be blended at ADM mills, from the best information on the wheat market and new marketing initiatives, such as the Targeted Marketing Scheme.
"Farmers increasingly appreciate the value of belonging to a strong, stable cooperative which exists purely to looks after their best interests by purchasing the inputs they require, achieving the best possible returns for the combinable crops they produce and providing impartial advice on a wide range of issues to help them operate more efficiently and profitably. We also continue to build strong relationships with the independent agronomists who advise our Members and distributors/manufacturers of crop protection products, which is essential to ensure our voice is heard at key times in the decision-making process and that we have access to the products we require.
"The Group’s success in achieving this is confirmed by the fact that during the year we enrolled a significant number of new Members, including very large, highly-commercial farming businesses, and expanded the hectareage on existing farms. We now represent 1050 Members farming more than 300,000 hectares throughout the UK, deal directly with 1400 suppliers and market over 160,000 tonnes of Members’ combinable crops.
"Our aim is that the AtlasFram Group should be recognised in the farming world as the best purchasing and marketing cooperative for committed farmer Members, who will view the company as an extension of their own businesses. We are well on track to achieve that goal."
