Companies that process crops benefit when drought or wars such as the Russia/Ukraine conflict create shortages in parts of the world.Prices for food-related commodities including wheat, corn and soybeans remain elevated on a five-year view, though they have softened since Russia agreed for grain exports to resume through the Black Sea.Against a backdrop of supply shortages and food inflation,...

Specialist food, fuel and feed distributor NWF (NWF) posted better than expected results for the year to 31 May thanks to a resilient performance in food and feeds and 'significant outperformance' in its fuel supply business.Revenues for the year were 2.4% higher at £687.5 million but operating profits rose a whopping 40.2% to £14.3 million as the firm took advantage of higher demand and...

Food prices are likely to go up as a result of pressure on the food supply chain linked to the coronavirus pandemic. Companies who can get food products to the consumer, either manufacturers supplying retailers or supermarkets being able to provide adequate stocks, could be winners from an investment perspective.We'll discuss the situation in this article along with two stock ideas to play the...

UK stocks pushed modestly higher in early trading on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 up 15.3 points, or 0.26%, to 5,973.83 as coronavirus hit countries continued to take tentative steps to reopen their economies and Google-owner Alphabet posted better-than-expected sales.Banking behemoth Barclays (BARC) bounced 6% to 103.6p despite a sharp fall in first quarter profit as a $2.1bn credit...

Specialist distributor NWF Group (NWF) reported a 25% increase in first-half pre-tax profits to £3m thanks to strong demand in its fuel- and food-delivery businesses, sending the shares up 2.2% to a fresh year-high of 185p.Turnover in the fuels business rose by 10.6% to £245.9m, despite a lower oil price, as sales of gas oil and heating oil rose due to mixed weather in the six months to the...

The FTSE 100 is up 19 points to 7,554.13 in early trading as the leading index continues its momentum from yesterday. There is optimism that President Trump's tax reform may actually become law, which helped to boost US markets last night and have a positive effect on markets in other parts of the world.Online price comparison site Gocompare.com (GOCO) gains 6.3% to 105.3p on news its...

Agricultural supplier NWF (NWF:AIM) has been hit by rising costs of feeds although offset this by growing its fuel supply business.The company had invested in new fuel depots in the South East which exceeded expectations in the first year of operating. As its feed division buys its raw materials under forward purchase contracts, increases in prices impacted margins as the company was not able...

Upwards pressure on dairy prices mean investors should keep a close eye on agricultural supplier NWF (NWF:AIM).NWF, feedstock provider to one-sixth of the UK's dairy herd, should benefit if early signs of improvement in the livestock market start to feed through to improved profitability for its customers.Milk prices increased month-on-month in July and August to 21.3p a litre, according to...

Oil-related stocks rally as oil producers' cartel Opec agrees a preliminary deal to cut production for the first time in eight years. Brent crude initially jumped almost 6% to circa $49 per barrel. Oil services groups Hunting (HTG) and Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) jump 11% and 8.2% respectively. Oil and gas firms Tullow (TLW), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB), Petrofac (PFC) and BP (BP.) all increase in...

Supplier to the agriculture industry NWF (NWF:AIM) says conditions in the sector are tough as it reports falling revenue and flatlining profit numbers in a half-year update.Revenue sank 9.1% in the six months ended 30 November because of lower pricing in its Fuels division but costs also declined.Underlying operating profit was flat and underlying earnings per share improved 7.5% to 4.3p...

China fearsEconomic growth in China is running at its slowest since the financial crisis and is in 'dangerous' territory, claims China Beige Book. The research group conducts polls and tracks indicators in China to give a more up-to-date view on its economic health than official stats. Both manufacturing and service sector growth continue to slow, it says. (WC)Fishing Republic nets dealFishing...

Investor sentiment towards UK-listed agriculture stocks is already being tested as plunging milk prices pressure farm incomes.Now backers of animal feeds to tractor fuel supplier NWF (NWF:AIM) have been hit by news chief executive Richard Whiting has offloaded almost a quarter of a million pounds' worth of stock.Despite this backdrop, we remain bullish on NWF because of director purchases...

Stock picker Gervais Williams looks to have backed a winner in small cap international pensions outsourcer STM (STM:AIM).Miton UK Micro Cap (MINI), a fund managed by Williams, bought a 20% stake in the Isle of Man-headquartered firm in April at around 35p a share.And the investment vehicle is now sitting on a 49% gain thanks to an interim update for the six months to 30 June 2015, which saw...

An easily-overlooked feature of NWF's (NWF:AIM) business model indicates potential hidden value at the agriculture specialist.Over the years, cash conversion at NWF has been stronger than agriculture service sector peers, a strength which potentially gives it more flexibility to pursue its investment options. Chief executive Richard Whiting attributes this strength to a natural cash flow hedge...

London's FTSE 100 trades lower again on Friday, as investors fret over fighting in Yemen, a slowing US economy as well as Greece's precarious finances, with the blue-chip benchmark off 20.7 points at 6,874.63 early on.Among the risers is high-flying HomeServe (HSV), the boiler cover-to-drainage insurance play marked up 11.9p (3.3%) to 375p on a well received pre-close trading statement. The...

Latham (James) (LTHM:AIM) 577.5pSheet and hardwood supplier Latham has been consistently profitable for the past 10 years, more than doubling operating profit in the same period. The Hemel Hempstead-based company is expected to grow earnings per share 19% to 39.5p this year.Leaf Clean Energy (LEAF:AIM) 34pRenewable energy investor Leaf Clean is a closed-end fund in run-off. At a meeting in...

Investors make tentative steps back onto the UK market on Thursday after several days of falling markets. The FTSE 100 nudges 8.6 points higher in early trade to 6,715, with discount flyer EasyJet (EZJ) leading the way, up close on 2.5% at £13.46.Going the other way among the UK blue-chips, FTSE 100 miner BHP Billiton (BLT) dips 1.4% to £17.72 despite saying it will consider London, after...

Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror (TNI) has attracted positive attention for its second-quarter trading update that revealed improving trends and a successful implementation of self-help measures. The counter jumped 13.5% to 105.25p after reporting a moderation in the rate of decline in advertising sales which dropped 12% between March and April versus a 14% decline between January and...

Analysts have upgraded price targets for food, feeds and fuel distributor NWF (NWF:AIM) in reaction to last week's interim results (29 Jan). Pre-tax profit jumped by 28% to £2.3 million and net debt more than halved to £13.7 million. The performance is a result of more efficient operations, cost cutting and underlying business developments.One of the catalysts for hitting brokers'...