REG - Dekel Agri-Vision - January Palm Oil and Cashew Operation Update

Dekel Agri-VisionAnnouncement

14/02/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 7912P  Dekel Agri-Vision PLC  14 February 2023

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended ("MAR"). Upon
the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service,
this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

Dekel Agri-Vision Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: DKL / Sector: Food Producers

 

Dekel Agri-Vision Plc

('Dekel' or the 'Company')

January Palm Oil Production Update and Cashew Operation Update

 

Dekel Agri-Vision Plc (AIM: DKL), the West African agriculture company focused
on building a portfolio of sustainable and diversified projects, is pleased to
provide a January production update for its Ayenouan palm oil project in Côte
d'Ivoire ('Palm Oil Operation') and an update on progress regarding the
ramp-up of production of our large-scale cashew processing plant at Tiebissou,
Côte d'Ivoire (the 'Cashew Operation').

 

Key Highlights

Palm Oil Operation

·    January can be summarised as a month of record January monthly Crude
Palm Oil ('CPO') prices and record January CPO extraction rate offset by weak
Fresh Fruit Bunch ('FFB') volumes.

·    The weak FFB volumes were attributed to unusually high FFB prices paid
by one of our competitors which Dekel elected not to match in order to adhere
to prices set by the local industry body.  FFB prices in early February have
normalised.

·     Crude Palm Oil ('CPO') prices achieved in January of €1,089 per
tonne was a record for the month of January and materially higher than the
international CPO price which traded around €950 per tonne.

·    The CPO extraction rate of 23% was also a record for January and
coupled together with record January prices led to the gross margin percentage
remaining strong.

·     FFB volumes in February have started quite low as small holders have
held back harvesting in an attempt to enhance prices similar to January.
 However, we are starting to see an uplift in FFB volumes which should
continue to increase towards month end.

·     With FFB prices now appearing to stabilise, the CPO extraction rate
remaining high and CPO selling prices at over €950 per tonne gross margin
percentages remain healthy.

 

                                              Jan-23    Jan-22    Change

 FFB processed (tonnes)                       7,892     18,429    -57.2%
 CPO Extraction Rate                          23.0%     21.3%     8.0%
 CPO production (tonnes)                      1,818     3,929     -53.7%
 CPO Sales (tonnes)                           1,693     3,303     -48.7%
 Average CPO price per tonne                  €1,089    €995      9.5%
 Palm Kernel Oil ('PKO') production (tonnes)  82        209       -60.8%
 PKO Sales (tonnes)                           30        289       -89.6%
 Average PKO price per tonne                  €1,143    €1,275    -10.4%

 

Cashew Operation

·    The Cashew Operation production is continuing to increase
steadily.  We are continuing to process material quantities of historical
stock which was awaiting final peeling before sale.  Once this back log of
unpeeled inventory is completed over the next month we will move into a phase
of smooth production and we intend to start publishing financial statistics on
a quarterly basis at the end of March with the reporting date on or around the
15th following each quarter.

·   Cashew sales quantities have increased materially since Q4 2022 and we
continue to sell to a number of parties locally and internationally.

·   The Raw Cashew Nut ('RCN') buying season will commence shortly. We
currently hold approximately 1,800tn of RCN and will be actively seeking to
buy over the coming months to support our 2023 processing forecasts.

·    The acquisition of the final 29.3% shareholding of the Cashew
Operation was successfully completed on 10 February resulting in Dekel
achieving 100% ownership.

 

Lincoln Moore, Dekel's Executive Director, said: "High CPO prices and CPO
extraction rates continue to underpin the solid financial performance of the
Palm Oil Operation.  March and April are typically the best FFB volume months
and will be important in terms of driving H1 financial performance.  The
Cashew Operation is now becoming a material contributor to financial
performance and we look forward to reporting ongoing quarterly statistics for
Q1 2023 onwards."

 

** ENDS **

 

For further information, please visit the Company's website
www.dekelagrivision.com or contact:

 

 Dekel Agri-Vision Plc                     +44 (0) 207 236 1177

 Youval Rasin

 Shai Kol

 Lincoln Moore

 WH Ireland Ltd (Nomad and Joint Broker)   +44 (0) 20 7220 1666

 James Joyce

 Megan Liddell

 Optiva Securities Limited (Joint Broker)  +44 (0) 203 137 1903

 Christian Dennis

 Daniel Ingram

 

Notes:

Dekel Agri-Vision Plc is a multi-project, multi-commodity agriculture company
focused on West Africa. It has a portfolio of projects in Côte d'Ivoire at
various stages of development: a fully operational palm oil project in
Ayenouan where fruit produced by local smallholders is processed at the
Company's 60,000tpa capacity crude palm oil mill and a cashew processing
project in Tiebissou, which is currently transitioning to full commercial
production in 2023.

 

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