M.P. Evans Group (LON: MPE), the palm oil producer with plantations in Indonesia, published unaudited interim results for the six months to the 30th of June at 7am today, ahead of the London open.
Shares in the AIM-listed group opened today at 1926p and traded as high as 2040p, last changing hands at 1958p by 9.01am, up 3.8% from Friday’s close of 1886p.
The headline numbers point to volume-led growth rather than a stronger palm oil market. Crude palm oil (CPO) production rose 11% to 192,300 tonnes and crop processed climbed 8% to 798,200 tonnes, while the average mill-gate CPO price, the price the group achieves for its palm oil at the point of sale, rose just 1% to US$873 a tonne.
That growth was turned into profit by cost discipline. The unit cost of Group palm product fell 8% to US$409 a tonne, helping lift gross profit 25% to US$78.9m and gross margin to 40% of revenue, up from 35% a year earlier. The distinction matters for traders because it shows the shares’ re-rating is being driven by production growth and cost control rather than a stronger CPO price, a mix that would look less secure if prices soften.
Profit attributable to owners reached US$61.0m, or 86.5p a share, up 21% and described by the company as a record first-half result. Group cash rose to US$113.5m from US$91.1m a year earlier.
Management backed the results with a 39% increase in the interim dividend to 25p a share, payable on the 6th of November to shareholders on the register on the 9th of October. Post period-end, the group also completed the US$2.0m acquisition of PT Kalimantan Wahaya Berjaya, adding 776 planted hectares near its Kota Bangun estate, and said strong CPO and palm kernel pricing had continued into the third quarter.
Chairman Peter Hadsley-Chaplin said: “The first half of 2026 has been particularly encouraging for the Group, with increases in both crop harvested and extraction rates in our mills. Our focus on efficiency helps us to push down unit costs, and our gross margin has improved again, leading to another increase in earnings.”