Dekel Agri-Vision reports bumper production and sales in first half

West Africa-focussed agriculture company Dekel Agri-Vision updated the market on production at its wholly-owned Ayenouan palm oil project in Côte d'Ivoire for the six months ended 30 June on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said crude palm oil production in June was up 12.6% year-on-year at 2,638 tonnes, bringing cumulative crude production for the first half to 26,515 tonnes, up 11.0% over the prior year.

A total of 4,822 tonnes of crude palm oil was sold in June, making for a 97.3% increase over June 2020, making for cumulative sales of 24,784 tonnes in the first half, ahead 3.7% over 12 months earlier.

Dekel also announced an 82.3% increase in average realised crude palm oil prices to €915 per tonne in June - a record monthly price for the company.

The firm said that made for an average realised crude price for the first half of €817 per tonne, 35.7% higher than the €602 per tonne it achieved in the first half of 2020.

Finally, Dekel said its financial results for the six month period were expected to “significantly surpass” the prior year.

“The overall company performance in the first half is arguably our strongest since joining the London AIM market,” said executive chairman Lincoln Moore.

“The strong palm oil high season, significant advance of the cashew processing plant towards first production and substantial strengthening of our balance sheet via the capital injections have put the company in an excellent position moving forward.”

Moore said that in particular, credit should be given to the operations team for delivering a “strong” palm oil high season, to ensure the company capitalised on the current multi-year high crude palm oil prices.

“We look forward to the next six to 12 months with great optimism, for a further step up in the company’s operational and financial growth.”

At 1541 BST, shares in Dekel Agri-Vision were up 4.04% at 4.89p.