28th Apr 2014 11:05
LONDON (Alliance News) - R.E.A. Holdings PLC Monday reported a lower pretax profit for 2013, but the company raised its dividend after seeing profits bounce back in the second half of the year.
The palm oil producer reported a pretax profit of USD25.2 million for the year as a whole, down from USD30.6 million in 2012, after it reported a USD2.6 million loss in the first half of the year but rebounded to a USD27.8 million profit in the second half. The recovery was fuelled by a bigger harvest, higher prices for crude palm oil and crude palm kernel oil and a foreign exchange gain as the Indonesian rupiah fell against the US dollar.
"Although the results for 2013 as a whole were disappointing, the directors do not believe that they are symptomatic of any underlying decline in the profit potential of the group, a view that is supported by the performance in the second half of the year," the company said in a statement.
It said that it is therefore going to pay a final dividend of 3.75 pence a share, up from 3.50 pence, bringing the total dividend for 2013 to 7.25 pence, up from 7.00 pence for 2012.
The company harvested 578,785 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches in 2013, down from 597,722 tonnes in 2012, while the average crude palm oil price for the year was USD856 a tonne, down from USD998 a tonne in 2012.
R.E.A. Holdings was hit by disruptions caused by disputes with local communities at the end of 2012 and the start of 2013, which delayed harvesting and lowered extraction rates and oil quality. It said relations with the locals are now much improved and should permit it to fully restore previous operating standards and improve the crops.
R.E.A. Holdings shares were up 0.9% at 439 pence Monday.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @SteveMcGrath1
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