Agri-services company Origin Enterprises announced results this week which showed it had increased turnover during the year, but profits had fallen by almost 25% to €90.8m.

Higher costs and volatile market conditions meant the company’s profit margin dropped from 5.1% to 3.7%.

Despite the drop in profits, the company announced a small increase in the annual dividend to 16.8 cent per share. The group also completed a €20m share buyback during the year.

Significantly, Origin announced it is ceasing operations in Ukraine, with almost immediate effect. The company said that the business in Ukraine had been loss-making for a number of years and that there is little evidence that the trading environment would improve after the war.

Elsewhere, there were increased profits in continental Europe and Latin America, while the Ireland and UK business, which accounts for around two-thirds of Origin’s turnover, saw profits drop by almost 40%.