Dekel reports robust month for palm oil operation

West Africa-focussed agriculture company Dekel Agri-Vision updated the market on its Ayenouan palm oil venture in Côte d'Ivoire on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said its palm oil operation marked its sixth successive month of amplified production in August.

It reported a comparative increase from August 2022 in crude palm oil (CPO) production by 38.3%, and a 103.3% surge in palm kernel oil (PKO) production.

CPO sales volumes for August meanwhile shot up by 55.6% on the year, while PKO sales volumes witnessed a rise of 1,116.4%.

This board said the drastic leap in PKO sales was due to the release of an unusually large inventory accumulated at the end of the first half, which coincided with a high season of production.

The cost of CPO per tonne for August was €822 - a small rise from €814 per tonne in the preceding month.

However, local prices remained slightly lower than the international rate for CPO, which stood at about €850 per tonne, with the discrepancy put down to elevated levels of local stock supplies.

The extraction rate for CPO saw a mild rise at the start of August, but declined towards the month's end, settling at 18.4%.

That pattern reflected the project being in the midst of its low season, but projections indicated a potential rise in the extraction rates in the coming months.

Dekel said its financial outcomes for August were significantly robust when compared to the results from August last year.

“We are pleased to record our sixth consecutive month of stronger crude palm oil production compared to last year,” said executive director Lincoln Moore.

“Together with strong crude palm oil and palm kernel oil sales volumes, the palm oil operation's monthly financial performance during the second half of 2023 continues to track well ahead of the second half of 2022.”

At 1009 BST, shares in Dekel Agri-Vision were up 3.67% at 3.11p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.