DekelOil Public Limited, operator and 51% owner of the vertically integrated Ayenouan palm oil project in Côte d’Ivoire has given DirectorsTalk a production update for the year ended 31 December 2015. Crude palm oil (‘CPO’) production increased by 151% to 35,770 tonnes at the Company’s 60 t/hr CPO extraction Mill (‘the Mill’), one of West Africa’s largest. DekelOil also commenced first production and sales of Palm Kernel Oil (‘PKO’) and Palm Kernel Cake (‘PKC’) at the recently commissioned kernel crushing plant (the ‘KCP’).
|
FY 2015 |
FY 2014 |
% Increase |
|
|
CPO production (tonnes) |
35,770 |
14,242 |
151% |
|
CPO Sales (tonnes) |
35,573 |
13,900 |
156% |
|
Average CPO price per tonne |
€604 |
€647 |
-7% |
|
Kernel production (tonnes) |
6,221 |
2,504 |
148% |
|
Kernel Sales (tonnes)* |
4,806 |
2,444 |
97% |
|
Average Kernel price per tonne |
€183 |
€183 |
nil |
|
PKO production (tonnes)* |
492 |
Nil |
– |
|
PKO Sales (tonnes)* |
425 |
Nil |
– |
|
Average PKO price per tonne |
€743 |
Nil |
– |
|
PKC production (tonnes)* |
712 |
Nil |
– |
|
PKC Sales (tonnes)* |
417 |
Nil |
– |
|
Average PKC price per tonne |
€42 |
Nil |
– |
* Kernel Crushing facility commenced operations in November 2015. Kernel sales ceased and PKO and PKC sales commenced
· FY 2015 CPO extracted at a rate of 23.6% during the period from 151,702 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches (‘FFB’) – compares favourably to other CPO extraction mills
· 6,632 tonnes of CPO produced during Q4 2015 – 127% increase compared to Q4 2014
· Strong local and regional demand has enabled DekelOil to sell its CPO at a premium to CIF Rotterdam prices. The Company expects this trend to continue and notes that international crude palm oil prices are beginning to improve as very low rainfall caused by a very significant El Nino impact in South East Asia during H2 2015 is resulting in lower production levels which are expected to continue into H1 2016.
· KCP now fully commissioned with PKC and now PKO being produced and sold locally
DekelOil Executive Director Lincoln Moore said, “35,770 tonnes of CPO during what was the Mill’s first full year of operations is an excellent outcome. In our view this reflects the strong relationships DekelOil has established with local smallholders and also the effectiveness of the logistics network we have put in place in the surrounding area to facilitate the delivery of FFB to the Mill for processing.
“In 2016 we will build on the success we have seen to date with CPO production expected to continue to grow, in addition to a ramp up in the production of PKO and PKC at the KCP and a higher proportion of FFB derived from our 1,900 hectares of mature company-owned estates. We are pleased with the on-going performance of the Mill and the extraction rate being achieved and believe the current PKO extraction rate of 37.45% should also improve materially as the newly established kernel crushing operations stabilise in 2016.
“Together with the recently announced €5.1 million reduction in debt, we are on course to realise the highly cash generative potential of our vertically integrated project at Ayenouan. In line with our strategy, this will provide a strong platform from which to deliver on our objective and build a leading West African focused palm oil company.”
