LONDON (Alliance News) - Indonesia-based palm oil producer REA Holdings PLC on Monday said its pretax profit sank in 2015 on lower revenue, forcing the company to scrap its dividend.
REA said its pretax profit for the year to the end of December was EUR11.5 million, around half the USD23.7 million it made the year earlier.
As a result of the challenges faced in 2015, REA said it will not pay a dividend, having paid out 7.75 pence in 2014.
Revenue fell to EUR90.5 million from EUR125.9 million, hit by the price of crude palm oil falling to an average of USD612 per tonne in the year, compared to USD828 a year earlier.
REA said its crude palm oil production declined to 163,880 tonnes in the year, down from 169,466 tonnes in 2014, though it said extraction rates have improved.
REA said the outlook for the crude palm oil price is encouraging, amid some recovery in prices already, but REA said it will be devoting time in 2016 to addressing its funding position and is in talks with bankers to try and refinance its existing facilities.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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