Simpsons Malt Limited has published its financial results for 2024, posting a profit before tax of £9.5million (2023: £15.2million) from a turnover of £264.1million (2023: £301.3million).
For the fifth-generation, family-owned business and Certified B Corporation – which includes agricultural merchanting division McCreath Simpson & Prentice – profitability was lower than in 2023 due to several factors, including lower malt sales values, a small decrease in speciality malt volumes, increased costs and the quality of the 2023 malting barley harvest.
The wider drinks market also presented challenges for base malt sales volumes, particularly to distilling customers. Whisky exports by value decreased by 9.5% in 2023 and a further 3.7% in 2024, with global trade disruption, weaker consumer spending and higher domestic taxation all impacting spirit production and therefore malt demand.
The merchanting division, meanwhile, delivered another profitable year despite difficult trading conditions in UK agriculture. Grain and feed trading outperformed 2023 despite softer raw material costs and lower whisky production, while fertiliser returned to profitability after significant market disruption in the previous year.
The renewable Energy Centre neighbouring the company’s Tweed Valley Maltings
Over the past two years, the group has invested £31.7million in infrastructure projects to support malt customers, including £11.5million in 2024. At the company’s Tweed Valley Maltings, investment in base malt and peated malt capacity was completed during 2024, while malt storage projects were also either completed – or neared completion – at both the Tivetshall and Tweed Valley malting sites.
The commissioning of the renewable Energy Centre neighbouring the company’s Tweed Valley Maltings also started at the end of 2024 and has reduced the carbon footprint of malt produced at the site by around 76%, while lowering the group’s carbon emissions by around 55%.
Speaking about the financial results for 2024, Simpsons Malt Ltd Managing Director, Tim McCreath, said: “While profitability was lower in 2024 than in 2023, we have continued to deliver strong results in a challenging environment.
“We have continued to invest in our infrastructure with numerous projects completed in 2024, while our long-term commitment to utilise renewable energy through the Energy Centre neighbouring our Tweed Valley Maltings highlights the positive environmental changes we are making. The drastic reductions in malt production emissions not only provides direct benefits to us as a business but also ensures significant carbon footprint reductions for malting customers we supply out of our Tweed Valley Maltings.”