Anglo-Eastern Plantations Regulatory News (AEP)

RNS Number : 0829M

Anglo-Eastern Plantations PLC

17 May 2010

 

17 May 2010

 

Anglo-Eastern Plantations PLC

 

Interim Management Statement

 

 

Anglo-Eastern Plantations Plc ("AEP" or "the Company") , which owns approximately 141,000 hectares of plantation land, primarily in Indonesia, and operates approximately 45,000 hectares of developed plantations, today announces its Interim Management Statement in respect of the period since 31 December 2009.

 

Operational and financial performance

 

For the first three months ended31 March 2010, our own production of fresh fruit bunches ("FFB") and bought in FFB decreased by 9% and 14% respectively, in comparison with the same period in 2009. Total Crude Palm Oil ("CPO") produced was 12% lower than the corresponding period in 2009 due to adverse weather conditions which had affected the FFB yield.

 

CPO CIF Rotterdam price averaged US$812 per metric tonne for the first three months to31 March 2010; an increase of 41% from the average of US$574/mt recorded in the first quarter of 2009.

 

AEP's balance sheet remains strong with the Company continuing to achieve strong cash flow generation and continuing to repay the Company's Long Term Development Loans which totalled US$24.7m at 31 March 2010.

 

Development

 

The Group's planting programme for the current year is running on schedule. 1,055 hectares have already been planted during the first three months of 2010. During this period we also acquired PT Kahayan with the initial "Izin Lokasi" area of 17,500.

 

Mr. Chan Teik Huat retired as Executive Chairman on 10 February 2010. He remains as Non-Executive Chairman of the Company.

 

Outlook

 

The CPO price ended at US$810/mt in March 2010, representing a 5% increase from its low of US$770/mt recorded in January 2010. Low interest rates, non-traditional monetary easing, extremely accommodative fiscal policy have generated considerable liquidity into the global economy. This, together with the increased demand from China and India has helped underpin the commodity prices.

 

The Indonesian Rupiah that went through a rather volatile period last year has strengthened against the US dollar in the current period. To mitigate exposure to currency exchange volatility, the group is continuing to manage its cash in dollar and local currency prudently, taking into consideration its dollar-denominated borrowings and operational cost currency requirements.

 

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit the northern parts of Sumatra in April 2010 but we are fortunate that there were no serious damages to our assets.

 

As the commodities price have remained generally stable throughout this period and the demand for the Group's products remains strong, the Board remains cautiously confident of reporting a satisfactory profit level and cash flow for the remainder of 2010.

 

For further enquiry, contact:

 

Anglo-Eastern Plantations plc	Tel 020 7216 4600
Donald H Low
Charles Stanley Securities	Tel 020 7149 6000
Russell Cook / Jen Boorer

 

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