2nd Apr 2019 10:34
LONDON (Alliance News) - MP Evans Group PLC on Tuesday said profit dipped in 2018 on a sharp reduction in the price of crude palm oil.
The Indonesian palm oil producer said pretax profit almost halved to USD18.3 million in 2018 from USD35.1 million the year prior, as revenue declined by 6.9% to USD108.6 million from USD116.5 million.
"Whilst 2018 marked another record year for crops and production, profit was lower than in 2017 in the face of a weak crude palm oil price, especially during the second half of the year," explained Executive Chair Peter Hadsley-Chaplin.
The average price of crude palm oil in 2018 was USD598 per tonne, 16% lower than the USD714 the year before. The fall in price was concentrated during the second half of the year as a widespread surge in production of crude palm oil coincided with plentiful supplies of competing vegetable oils.
Meanwhile, the company said its crops increased by 32% to 573,000 tonnes in 2018.
MP Evans proposed a final dividend of 12.75 pence a share, taking the total payout for the year to 17.75p, unchanged year-on-year. In 2017, the company also paid a 10p a share special dividend.
The stock was trading 7.9% lower on Tuesday at 632.00p a share.
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