Agricultural and palm oil company Feronia Inc, one of Resulta’s long-standing clients, has released its very optimistic audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2017.
“We take great pride in what we have accomplished in 2017,” said the business’ CEO Xavier de Carnière in a recent statement.
“We have achieved a 31% production increase in one year (62% in two years), whilst continuing to develop our social and environmental efforts, entering into agreements with our communities, reducing our cost of production, bringing a new significant shareholder on board, finalizing the disbursement of our loan facility, reinforcing our team, increasing our workforce’ salaries to reflect the consumer price index in the DRC, commissioning possibly Africa’s most modern boiler & turbine in Yaligimba, kick-starting the rehabilitation of our Lokumete mill and commencing our Boteka boiler & turbine projects.”
“Whilst a moment of proud reflection is warranted, there is still much to be done before we can confidently consider that we have reached cruising altitude. For instance, the variable portion of our cost of production, including transport costs and labour efficiency, require improvement. Absenteeism at the plantations remains a serious concern. Our housing renovation programme is not progressing as fast as we hoped, partly because of difficulties in bringing the right skills to the sites. Agricultural upkeep standards are not at the required level yet, although they are rapidly improving, and downtime at our Lokutu and Boteka mills are still above acceptable levels; a direct consequence of insufficient preventative maintenance.”
“We have demonstrated our ability to face difficult challenges as a team, and overcome them one by one. We are now confidently capitalizing on that ability and the trend is clearly pointing in the right direction and we are delivering on our business plan. Together we have the skills, the determination and the passion. The challenges before us may still be plenty, but we are confident that we will succeed.”
2017 Highlights:
- Produced 143,572 tonnes of fruit (2016: 109,061 tonnes), a year-over-year increase of 32%
- Produced 27,189 tonnes of Crude Palm Oil (“CPO”) (2016: 20,724 tonnes), a year-over-year increase of 31%
- Revenue of $21.1 million (2016: $17.2 million), a year-over-year increase of 23%, primarily from the sale of 24,609 tonnes of CPO at an average price of $775 per tonne (2016: 23,293 tonnes at $670 per tonne)
- Completed installation of new fibre boilers and turbines at Yaligimba and Lokutu
- A completed drawdown of remaining $34 million of DFI Debt Facility
Feronia is an agribusiness operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) specialising in palm oil. At its heart lie Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), which has three remotely located plantations (Lokutu, Yaligimba and Boteka). Feronia’s plantations produce crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO). CPO is part of the staple and traditional diet of the Congolese and, with our products sold locally in the DRC, we are well placed to help decrease reliance on imports and increase food security and quality. The company is committed to improving the living and working environment of its employees and their communities and are committed to sustainable agriculture, environmental protection and community inclusion. Feronia has in place an Environmental and Social Action Plan which is focused on implementing environmental and social best practice and improving social infrastructure. Resulta is one of the leading suppliers of palm oil engineering equipment in Africa, Feronia being one of our clients.