TIDMPALM
RNS Number : 0366L
Asian Plantations Limited
01 July 2014
The following amendment has been made to the 'Final Results
& Notice of AGM' announcement released on 01 July 2014 at
7:00a.m. under RNS No 9969K.
The words "unaudited preliminary" were changed to "audited" in
the first line of the Chairman's Statement
All other details remain unchanged. The full amended text is
shown below.
Asian Plantations Ltd
("APL" or the "Company")
Final Results for the year ended 31 December 2013
& Notice of Annual General Meeting
Asian Plantations Limited (LSE: PALM), a palm oil plantation
company with operations in Malaysia, is pleased to announce its
audited results for the year ended 31 December 2013.
Highlights
-- US$23,763,000 of revenue reported (2012: US$2,820,000), an
increase of 742 per cent based on the production and sale of 26,584
tonnes of crude palm oil (CPO), 5,604 tonnes of palm kernel nuts
(PK) and 12,455 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches (FFB). In 2014, the
Company projects the sale of 45,000 tonnes of CPO, 10,000 tonnes of
PK and over 20,000 tonnes of FFB.
-- Completion of the Company's land consolidation strategy with
the closure of the Grand Performance Sdn Bhd acquisition on 21
August 2013.
-- Issuance of RM155,000,000 (US$49,800,000) of fixed income
notes on 15 March 2013 which completed the Company's Medium Term
Note Programme. On 23 August 2013, Issuance of the last tranche of
the convertible bond to OCBC Bank; the convertible bond issuances
were US$15,000,000 in total with an implied conversion price of 286
pence per share.
Graeme Brown, APL's Joint Chief Executive Officer, commented
"We are pleased with the results for 2013 which reported
substantial revenue growth. Taking account of our performance to
date we look forward to the future with confidence
In addition to its final results for 2013, the Company announces
that the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") relating to is financial
year ended 31 December 2013 will be held at The American Club at 10
Claymore Hill, Singapore 229573 on 25(th) August 2014 at 11:00 am
(local time). The AGM notice is available for download from the
Company's website at www.asianplantations.com
The Company's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31
December 2013 have been posted to shareholders and are also
available on the Company's website at www.asianplantations.com.
-END-
For further information contact:
Asian Plantations Limited
Graeme Brown, Co-Founder & Joint Chief Tel: +65 6325 0970
Executive Officer
Dennis Melka, Co-Founder & Joint Chief
Executive Officer
Strand Hanson Limited
James Harris Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409
James Spinney 3494
Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited
Steve Baldwin Tel: +44 (0) 203
Dan Iacopetti 037 2000
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited
Tom Nicholson Tel: +65 6824 8204
Callum Stewart Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886
2500
Bankside Consultants
Simon Rothschild Tel: +44 (0) 20 7367
8871
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
I am pleased to present the Company's audited results for the
year ended 31 December 2013.
On 24 March 2014, the Company announced that it had retained a
financial advisor to co-ordinate the potential sale of Asian
Plantations Limited. Whilst a difficult decision, particularly as
palm oil prices remain more than 30% below their 2011 and 2012
peaks, it is appropriate to explore a sale as we have completed
several important milestones since our admission to AIM
("Admission") on 30 November 2009:
-- Consolidation of our project area, culminating with the Grand
Performance Sdn Bhd acquisition on 21 August 2013, giving the
Company a total titled land resource of 24,622 hectares (60,840
acres) compared with 4,795 hectares (11,848 acres) at the time of
Admission;
-- Opening of our state-of-the-art crushing milling facility in
2013 allowing for integrated plantation operations and sale of
crude palm oil to the refineries at the port of Bintulu;
-- Planted estates totalling 16,300 hectares (40,277 acres)
compared with approximately 1,500 hectares (3,706 acres) at the
time of Admission.; and,
-- Excellent revenue growth since Admission from zero in 2009 to
US$ 23.7m in 2013. We anticipate further growth in unit volumes in
2014 as the estates mature and an increase in third party fresh
fruit bunch (FFB) processing.
As announced on 30 June 2013, discussions are on-going and we
look forward to reporting a positive conclusion in due course. We
appreciate our shareholders' and lenders' understanding and
patience as we conduct this process. Rest assured, we seek to
maximize the value of the equity capital contributed and ensure a
positive future for the Company and its dedicated employees in the
event of a sale.
FINANCIAL PERFOMANCE
For 2013, the Company reported substantially increased revenue
but a higher loss per share due to increased interest expense
associated with long term debt incurred for the opening of the
processing mill and other capital expenditures.
FINANCIAL POSITION
The Company is pleased to report revenue of USD23,763,000 in
2013, an increase of 743% over the 2012 result. The Company's
balance sheet as at 31 December 2013 shows a net assets position of
USD43,199,000 (2012: USD57,033,000). The Company has gross
indebtedness of USD151,362,000 (2012: USD123,468,000). Cash
balances were USD10,813,000 at year-end 2013.
During 2014, the Company expects to sell in excess of 45,000
tonnes of palm oil (2013: 26,584 tonnes), 10,000 tonnes of palm
kernel nuts (2013: 5,604 tonnes) and 20,000 tonnes of FFB (2013:
12,455).
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
On 15 March 2013, the Company issued the second and final
tranche of loan notes totalling RM155,000,000 (USD49,800,000) under
its RM255,000,000 bond programme. The notes have maturities ranging
from four to eight years and were issued via Maybank Investment
Bank, a leading Southeast Asian investment bank. The notes are
unconditionally guaranteed by Maybank and therefore were accorded
an AAA rating in the local market. The all-in interest cost to the
Company, including the annual bank guarantee fee, is 5.85%, 5.95%,
6.05%, 6.15% and 6.25% for the four, five, six, seven and eight
year notes, respectively. This represents a 269 basis point ("bps")
premium for the four year tranche over the equivalent four year
Malaysian Government Securities ("MGS"), then trading at 3.16% and
a 282 bps premium over the equivalent eight year MGS then trading
at 3.43%.
Additionally in 2013, the Company issued convertible unsecured
bonds in three tranches totalling USD15,000,000 to OCBC Capital
Investment I Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of OCBC Bank
("OCBC"). OCBC is one of the largest banks in Southeast Asia and
its securities are publicly traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
The convertible bonds bear a cash interest coupon of three month
Libor + 2.00 per cent per annum, which is payable quarterly in
arrears until the three year maturity is reached in 14 January
2016. The convertible bonds may be converted into a maximum of
3,260,041 new ordinary shares of the Company. This implies a
conversion price of 286 pence per share.
OPERATIONS & PLANTING STRATEGY
We have five wholly-owned estates:
BJ Corporation 4,795 ha
--------------- ------- -----------------------------
Incosetia 5,839 ha (acquired 30(th) December
2009)
--------------- ------- -----------------------------
Fortune 5,136 ha (acquired 30(th) December
2010)
--------------- ------- -----------------------------
Dulit 5,000 ha (acquired 28(th) February
2012)
--------------- ------- -----------------------------
GP 3,852 Ha (acquired 21(st) August
2013)
--------------- ------- -----------------------------
Total 24,622 ha (approximately 60,840
acres)
--------------- ------- -----------------------------
As at year-end 2013, the Company had approximately 16,300
hectares of land planted, with a further 157 hectares being used
for the mill site, seedling nurseries, staff housing, quarry and
related infrastructure works essential for plantation operations.
Whilst lower than expected, this compares favourably with 13,627
hectares planted as at year-end 2012. The Company believes that the
total planted area can reach 21,000 hectares, subject to sufficient
working capital, over the next two years.
It is important to note that the Company's estates are in close
proximity to each other, thereby simplifying operations and
management. Further, the estates are only 2.5 hours away, on a
combination of paved and unpaved roads, from the deep-water port of
Bintulu. This port is the only deep-water port in Sarawak and the
transit point for virtually all of Sarawak's CPO exports and
refining.
CLOSING COMMENTS
We wish to thank all our staff, who have worked to make the
Company the success that it is today. We wish to thank our
shareholders, who share our vision of creating a best-of-breed,
sustainable palm oil company in Malaysia, and we also take this
opportunity to thank our bankers at Malayan Banking Berhad and OCBC
for their continued support of our operations. Founded in 2008, the
Company is now in its seventh year of heavy capital investment. We
expect this investment to yield substantial cash flows to
shareholders in the medium to long term, as our planting works are
completed and estates mature.
The remainder of 2014 will be an exciting period for the
Company, as we continue to plant out the estates and increase
volume at our milling facility. We look forward to reporting
progress in the months ahead.
TAN SRI Datuk Linggi
Non-Executive Chairman
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