M P Evans Regulatory News (MPE)

M.P. EVANS GROUP PLC

("Company" or "M.P. Evans")

INTERIM RESULTS

M.P. Evans, a producer of sustainable Indonesian palm oil, announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2025.

HIGHLIGHTS

· 13% increase in mill-gate CPO price - 2025 US$868 per tonne, 2024 US$771 per tonne

· Significantly better crop mix with Group's own crop 8% higher

· 3% reduction in total crop processed - 2025 - 737,700 tonnes, 2024 - 759,700 tonnes

· 2% reduction in total crude palm oil production - 2025 - 172,800 tonnes, 2024 - 177,000 tonnes

· 10% increase in certified sustainable CPO production - 2025 - 131,300 tonnes, 2024 119,500 tonnes

· 3% decrease in cost of Group palm product - 2025 US$446 per tonne, 2024 US$458 per tonne

· 50% increase in operating profit - 2025 US$62.2 million, 2024 US$41.6 million

· 60% increase in earnings per share - 2025 - 71.7 pence, 2024 - 44.9 pence

· 20% increase in interim dividend per share - 2025 - 18 pence, 2024 - 15 pence

· Strong net cash surplus - 2025 net cash US$70.5 million, 2024 - net debt US$7.3 million

M.P. Evans chairman, Peter Hadsley-Chaplin, commented: "The Group has continued to make excellent strategic progress in the first half of 2025. We are benefiting from the move to a greater proportion of production coming from our own harvest, and results have been further enhanced by the strong commodity-price environment. As we move into the second half of the year, the Group has added a further 3,000 planted hectares to its portfolio, and both CPO and PK prices remain robust."

A presentation for analysts will be held today at 9.30am at the offices of Hudson Sandler at 25 Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6AE.

15 September 2025

Enquiries:

Peter Hadsley-Chaplin, chairman Matthew Coulson, chief executiveLuke Shaw, chief financial officer

Matt Goode, George Lawson (Corporate Finance)

Tim Redfern, Harriet Ward (ECM)

Charlie Jack, Nick Moore, Francesca Rosser

Overview

In the first six months of 2025, the Group harvested 619,100 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches ("ffb") from the areas it managed, made up of 473,700 tonnes (2024 - 437,900 tonnes) of its own crop and 145,400 tonnes (2024 - 128,300 tonnes) from its associated scheme-smallholder areas, increases of 8% and 13% respectively.

Continuing a trend started in 2024, the Group is deliberately restricting the amount of independent ffb brought into Group mills to supplement the harvest from those areas managed by it. Typically, purchased crop is considerably more expensive than harvested crop, and is often of a much poorer quality, leading to lower levels of production. Management is continuing to focus on increasing the Group's own harvest and decreasing purchased ffb. The total amount of independent crop purchased in the first half of 2025 decreased by 39% to 118,600 tonnes (2024 - 193,500 tonnes).

As a result, the total crop available for processing in the first half of 2025 was 737,700 tonnes, a little lower than the 759,700 in the same part of 2024. Almost all that crop was processed in the Group's six palm-oil mills, with only 42,000 tonnes sent to outside mills, representing 6% of the total. The average oil-extraction rate achieved in the Group's mills in the period was an encouraging 23.5% (2024 - 23.4%), and may well have been higher but for some particularly wet weather in the early part of the year.

Total production of crude palm oil ("CPO") in the first half of the year was 172,800 tonnes (2024 - 177,000 tonnes), and sales were made at an average ex-mill-gate price of US$868 per tonne, almost US$100 per tonne higher than in the same part of 2024 when the average was US$771 per tonne, as the price increases seen in the second half of 2024 were maintained into 2025. The Group also produced 37,900 tonnes of palm kernels ("PK") (2024 - 39,200 tonnes), and kernel pricing improved significantly from the previous period, with the average sales price achieved in the first half of 2025 at US$747 per tonne, 71% higher than the US$437 average in the same part of 2024.

The cost of production from the Group's own crop was US$446 per tonne in the first half of the year (2024 - US$458 per tonne). This slight decrease was, in part, due to wet weather delaying application until the second half of the year. This work has already taken place, and the related costs incurred, since the end of June. Despite this, if higher cropping patterns prevail in the second half of the year, the average cost of production is expected to fall as the year progresses. The total cost of production in the first half of the year, after allowing for crop purchases, from both associated scheme smallholders and independent suppliers, was US$553 per tonne (2024 - US$529 per tonne). Whilst the Group purchased a lower proportion of independently supplied ffb, the unit cost of supply was higher given the connection between purchase costs and CPO prices.

The Group continues to be a responsible producer of certified sustainable palm oil. The change in mix of crop processed in Group mills during the period, with more input coming from areas developed and managed by the Group in accordance with high environmental and responsible standards, has resulted in an increase in certified sustainable production. In the first half of 2025, the Group produced 131,300 tonnes (2024 - 119,500 tonnes) of certified sustainable CPO, representing 76% (2024 - 68%) of total output.

Supported by the strong price environment for both CPO and PK, the Group achieved an increase in gross margin in the first half of the year, and gross profit was US$63.4 million (2024 US$42.1 million). Earnings per share increased to 71.7p (2024 - 44.9p).

Dividends

In line with the Group's sustainable approach to distributions, the board is increasing the interim dividend by 20% to 18p per share (2024 - 15p per share). Not only does this reflect the improved results for the period and the Group's ongoing ability to generate substantial amounts of operating cash, but it is also an indication of the board's confidence in the future prospects for the Group in the medium and longer term.

The Group continues to maintain its long, more than thirty-year, track record of maintaining or increasing dividends for shareholders. Its ongoing investment in additional planting, combined with the acquisition of further planted areas, will provide a sound basis for future crop growth, strong cash flows and future dividend streams.

Post balance-sheet event

On 14 July 2025, the Group announced that it had completed the acquisition of a further 3,000 planted hectares in East Kalimantan for total consideration of US35.1 million. The acquired area is close to the Group's Bumi Mas estate and will be managed as part of it, bringing the size of the enlarged project to almost 12,000 planted hectares. Since acquisition, all the crop from the newly acquired land is being brought for processing to the Group mill at Bumi Mas. This is in line with the Group's strategy to continue increasing mill utilisation with its own harvest and is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing.

Board changes

Following the annual general meeting on 13 June 2025, Bruce Tozer, the Group's senior independent director, retired from the board, having served as a director for the last nine years. The Group has benefited from Bruce's wealth of knowledge and experience throughout his time as a director in areas such as agriculture, commodities, banking, sustainability and carbon. The board thanks Bruce for his significant contribution to the Group.

Also on 13 June 2025, Kate Coppinger was appointed as an independent non-executive director. Kate is an experienced board director and has served as a non-executive on several other AIM-listed companies, including as chair of board committees. She is focused on enhancing corporate governance and is recognised as a trusted adviser in strategic decision making.

Following Bruce's retirement, Michael Sherwin, one of the Company's independent non-executive directors, has been appointed as senior independent director and chair of the audit committee. Kate Coppinger has been appointed chair of the remuneration committee.

RESULTS FOR THE PERIOD

Crops and production

Details of the Group's crops, production and extraction rates and average selling prices for the first half of 2025 are shown in the following table:

Mill-gate prices

The average commodity price for CPO during the first six months of 2025 was US$1,179 per tonne. This was US$180 per tonne higher than in the first half of 2024. The Group does not receive this amount when selling its output at mill-gate, but a lower figure to take account of freight and insurance costs, along with the export taxes and levies charged by the Indonesian government, which are based on published tables. In the first half of 2025, the Group received an average of US$868 per tonne for the CPO output from its mills, almost US$100 higher than the US$771 received in the six months to June 2024.

It is normal for mill-gate PK prices to be lower than those for CPO but PK prices as a proportion of CPO prices improved markedly during the first half of the year, with a beneficial impact on Group margins. On average during the first half of 2025, the Group received US$747 per tonne (2024 US$437 per tonne), an increase of 71% on the first six months of the previous year.

Sustainability

The Group continues to be committed to the production of certified sustainable palm oil. The steps taken during 2025 to change the balance of crop inputs to Group mills, with an increase in the amount of own-harvested crop and a decrease in the amount taken from independent suppliers, have benefited sustainable production. During the first half of the year, 76% of the Group's CPO (2024 - 68%) was certified as sustainable.

The Group benefits financially from selling its output, both CPO and PK, as certifiably sustainable. During the first half of 2025, the Group received additional income of US$2.8 million (2024 US$3.0 million) from these sales. The Group is also working towards the introduction of the EU Deforestation Regulations ("EUDR"), due to become effective from the start of 2026. Based on customer interaction, the Group expects to start supplying EUDR compliant palm oil from the start of next year.

Costs

The Group remains committed to being an efficient and low-cost producer of sustainable palm oil and palm kernels. During the first half of 2025, the cost per tonne of palm product (a tonne of either CPO or PK), when produced from crop harvested in areas owned by the Group, was US$446. This compares favourably with US$458 per tonne in the first half of 2024. Part of the decrease was as a result of lower fertiliser costs, caused by a delay in application, due to wet weather in the early months of 2025. The Group also benefited from a weaker Indonesian currency in the first half of the year. The Group expects unit costs to fall in the second half of the year as volumes increase, but also due to the phasing of some other operational costs. The full-year cost per tonne in 2024 was US$410.

Costs associated with purchasing crop for processing were higher in the first half of 2025. This includes both purchases from the Group's associated scheme smallholders and purchases from independent suppliers. In both cases, the purchase cost is connected to the commodity price for CPO and PK and, given that they were both high during the period, the cost to purchase crop for processing was also elevated. The Group continues to work in partnership with its associated scheme smallholders and manages those areas to the same high standard as its own land, ensuring that the crop harvested is of high quality. However, as previously explained, the Group is restricting purchases from independent suppliers where that quality cannot be guaranteed. The increased purchase costs in the first half of the year resulted in the Group's total cost of palm product, after allowing for all sources, to rise to US$553 per tonne (2024 US$529 per tonne).

Planting

The Group has continued to plant new areas of oil palm in 2025, both in Sumatra and in East Kalimantan. Wherever new planting takes place, it is based on the Group's commitment to being a responsible producer, and only land suitable for cultivation is planted. Environmental assessments are carried out, and estate management work alongside on-site sustainability staff, ensuring that the Group complies with its own policies and those of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil ("RSPO").

At the Musi Rawas estate in South Sumatra, additional planting took place in the first half of 2025, and the Group maintained the previous pace of planting with 250 hectares being planted by the end of June, bringing the total planted area at the estate to 11,090 hectares. The Group has already secured further areas for development, and more planting will take place in the second half of the year.

As reported in the 2024 annual report, at Kota Bangun, where 8,000 planted hectares were acquired in 2023, the Group embarked on a planting programme at the end of 2024 to increase further the size of the estate, setting a target to plant at least 1,000 hectares before the end of 2025. Good progress has been made, and by the end of June, a total of 450 hectares had been planted towards that target. Elsewhere in the acquired area at Kota Bangun, approximately 500 hectares have been replanted to secure high yields in future years.

Planting new areas, along with maintaining the high productivity of established Group estates through regular replanting, supports future growth and the further utilisation of the Group's mills with own-harvested crop.

New land

The Group is continuing to prioritise making the best use of its milling capacity, focusing wherever possible on processing crop harvested from areas managed by the Group's expert agronomic team. The addition, just after the end of the period, of a further 3,000 planted hectares close to Bumi Mas, will support this ambition. Alongside this, the Group continues to review opportunities for further acquisitions and, at the same time, consider the potential to secure additional sustainable plantings from within its existing land portfolio.

Associated companies

In Malaysia, property sales were a little slower in the first half of 2025 than in the first half of the previous year at Bertam Properties Sdn Berhad, the Group's 40%-owned property development company. However, it continued to make good progress with developing high-quality and affordable homes in the state of Penang. During the first half of the year, the Group's share of its profit was US$0.1 million (2024 US$0.3 million). The Group's 38%-owned oil-palm associate in Indonesia, PT Kerasaan Indonesia, achieved a similar profit to the first half of last year, with the Group's share being US$0.6 million (2024 US$0.5 million).

Result

The higher CPO and PK prices in the first half of 2025 resulted in an increase in turnover to US$179.4 million (2024 - US$163.7 million), even though output was slightly lower, and the Group did not experience the same working-capital benefit this year that pushed up sales in the first six months of 2024. The gross margin increased to 35% from 26% in the same part of last year with, again, price being the biggest factor, but Group profitability benefited from the change in input mix, with more of its own harvest being processed this year. There were also benefits in the first half from lower fertiliser costs, mainly due to the timing of application, and a weakening Indonesian currency, making those costs incurred in Indonesian rupiah lower when expressed in the Group's functional currency of US dollars. As a result, gross profit increased by 51% to US$63.4 million (2024 US$42.1 million).

The Group's other income was lower in the first half of 2025 at US$0.7 million (2024 US$1.7 million) as fewer by-product kernel shells were sold during the period, and there was a significant fall in financing costs to US$0.7 million (2024 US$1.8 million) as the Group repaid its main US-dollar finance facility during the period. The tax charge for the first half increased on higher profits and, after accounting for the Group's share of the profits of associated companies, the profit for the period was US$49.6 million, 56% higher than the US$31.7 million in 2024. Following the acquisition of minority interests in 2024, a lower amount of the higher profits was shared with the Group's minority partner resulting in a proportionately higher increase in earnings per share to 71.7 pence (2024 - 44.9 pence).

CURRENT TRADING AND PROSPECTS

The Group's cropping levels during July and August have continued to be higher than during the same period in 2024, despite some dry weather, although some welcome rain returned in the second half of August which bodes well for further crop increases. During the two months to August, the total crop harvested from the areas managed by the Group was 209,700 tonnes (2024 - 198,600 tonnes). The Group has continued with its strategy of, where appropriate, restricting the purchase of more expensive and lower quality independent crop for processing, and during the two months to August 2025, a further 43,600 tonnes were purchased, 38% lower than the purchases during the same part of 2024. Overall, the total crop processed by the Group remains similar to the previous year, but the continuing change in input mix will support the Group's commitment to increase productivity and profitability. Based on the latest field analysis, monthly cropping levels are expected to increase in the latter part of the year, which would be consistent with the Group's experience in recent years.

Pricing for both CPO and PK has remained firm since the end of June. By the end of August, the Group's year-to-date average mill-gate prices for its output had not changed significantly from those at the end of June. Following successful tendering for the two-month period, the year-to-date averages for CPO and PK had become US$865 and US$737 respectively. If Group cropping levels increase in the coming months, and this pattern is experienced more widely, there may be some downward pressure on prices, but the Group would also expect some associated downward pressure on unit costs of production from increasing volumes at the same time and, in addition, the pricing levels already achieved in the first eight months of the year are indicative of a robust average for the year as a whole.

Since taking over management control in July, the Group has made significant progress on the integration of the newly acquired hectarage at Bumi Mas. Improvements have already been made to estate infrastructure, the support and training of the workforce, and the upkeep and maintenance of the planted areas. The amount of crop being sent to the Bumi Mas mill for processing is increasing and management is confident that this new area will rapidly become a core part of the enlarged Bumi Mas estate.

Looking to the Group as a whole and its future prospects, the board remains committed to the Group's strategy of continued development and growth. The cultivated area continues to increase, both from further planting and through acquisition, and the Group is producing an ever-greater volume of certified sustainable output. There is a focus on innovation and efficiency, and the Group is delivering strong margins and robust cash flows to support further investment and progressive shareholder returns.

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

For the six months ended 30 June 2025

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

As at 30 June 2025

UNAUDITED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN CONSOLIDATED TOTAL EQUITY

For the six months ended 30 June 2025

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED CASH-FLOW STATEMENT

For the six months ended 30 June 2025

* Certain cash flows relating to balances with smallholder co-operatives have been amended above and in note 6 for consistency with current period treatment.

NOTES TO THE INTERIM STATEMENTS

For the six months ended 30 June 2025

Note 1 General information

The financial information for the six-month periods ended 30 June 2025 and 2024 has been neither audited nor reviewed by the Group's auditors and does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the year ended 31 December 2024 is abridged from the statutory accounts. The 31 December 2024 statutory accounts have been reported on by the Group's auditors for that year, BDO LLP, and have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditors thereon was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006, nor did it contain any matters to which the auditors drew attention without qualifying their audit report.

Note 2 Accounting policies

The consolidated financial results have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS and IFRIC interpretations) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and with those parts of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies preparing accounts under IFRS.

The accounting policies of the Group follow those set out in the annual financial statements at 31 December 2024. The Group has made a number of critical accounting judgements and key estimates in the preparation of this interim report, and they remain consistent with those set out in note 3(r) to the 2024 annual financial statements.

Note 3 Segment information

The Group's reportable segments are distinguished by location and product: Indonesian oil-palm plantation products in Indonesia and Malaysian property development.

Note 4 Dividends

Subsequent to 30 June 2025, the board has declared an interim dividend of 18p per 10p share. The dividend will be paid on or after 7 November 2025 to those shareholders on the register at the close of business on 10 October 2025.

Note 5 Share capital

During the period, in anticipation of the exercise of share options, the Company issued 80,000 10p shares for US$11,000 cash consideration.

Note 6 Analysis of movements in cash flow

* See footnote to consolidated cash-flow statement.

Note 7 Exchange rates

Note 8 Post balance-sheet event

On 14 July 2025, the Group completed its acquisition of the entire issued share capital of two Indonesian plantation companies, PT Setara Kilau Mas Adicita ("SKMA") and PT Sumber Bumi Serasi ("SBS").

As a result, the Group acquired 3,000 planted hectares (inclusive of 250 scheme-smallholder hectares) close to its Bumi Mas estate in East Kalimantan. Total consideration was US$35.1 million, equivalent to US$12,600 per Group-owned planted hectare. This was settled using existing cash resources and an initial payment of US$22.5 million was made on completion, including adjustments for working capital and net debt acquired. Immediately following completion, the Group repaid loans in the acquired companies of US$12.6 million.