William Sinclair will report a small loss in its latest financial year, the growing media supplier said today in a trading update.
The underlying EBITDA loss for the 12 months to September 30 2014 will be around £1m, compared with a predicted break-even.

Sales for the year were flat, and during the second half were slightly lower than those in the same period the previous year. This was partly down to the unusually late growing season in 2013, which led to stronger than normal performances during the later months of April and May.

Some sales were also lost by the company's professional division following the closure of its Boothby site and during the transition to the new plant at Ellesmere Port.

On the plus side, Sinclair says that despite the peat harvest being lower than anticipated, stock levels have been built up and there are now surplus amounts of peat for the coming selling season.

The Ellesmere Port plant has also been fully commissioned and production of peat alternative SuperFyba is increasing. The company says it is now well placed to grow following this significant capital investment and further activity on new product launches and brand rejuvenation.

William Sinclair will announce its preliminary results for the year in January.