The beneficial trading conditions described in the September statement continued through to the financial year-end, further benefiting arable performance with additional income across grain, seed and fertiliser categories.

Joint Venture businesses Bibby Agriculture Limited and Wyro Developments Limited have both substantially exceeded initial financial performance expectations, and the contribution from these activities will be higher than budgeted.

Wynnstay's Agriculture Division's reported profit will be increased by the accounting treatment in relation to financial derivatives used to commercially hedge forward physical transactions. The Group's accounting policies, in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standard 9, require certain open derivative contracts to be valued by reference to a recognised market price as at the financial year-end. On Monday, 31 October 2022, (the date of the Group's financial year-end) there was a spike in London Wheat futures prices caused by the Russian Government's announcement of its withdrawal from the Ukraine grain export agreement on Saturday, 29 October 2022. These closing reference prices have the effect of generating an additional approximate £0.5m of non-cash reported profit in the financial year to 31 October 2022. On Wednesday, 2 November 2022, the Russian Government announced the reversal of its decision and London Wheat futures prices decreased by approximately the same amount as they had initially increased. This effectively extinguished the reported additional non-cash profit, but the reversal will be accounted for in the new financial year.

This accounting treatment has no effect on the grain trading book of Wynnstay's Agricultural Division, where the derivative contracts in place at the financial year-end are used to commercially hedge physical contracts to be executed in the next financial year. It simply accelerates the recognition of the fair value from the relevant transactions.