MP Evans Group PLC (AIM:MPE) CEO Matthew Coulson talked with Proactive about the company’s record results for 2024 and the strong start to 2025.
MP Evans Group reported a robust financial performance in 2024, with CEO Matthew Coulson confirming a record profit and a 66% increase in earnings per share. “It’s been a fantastic year for the group,” Coulson said, noting that high pricing supported the result, with prices averaging around $820 per tonne for the year.
The company processed 1.6 million tonnes of crop in 2024, maintaining output despite weather-related challenges in Indonesia. Coulson highlighted this achievement in context: while Indonesia saw a slight national decline in crop yield, MP Evans sustained high volumes, reflecting operational resilience.
Planting activity also continued across its operations, particularly in South Sumatra and East Kalimantan. The company expects to exceed 11,000 hectares planted at its Musi Rawas estate in early 2025, while its ABK site in East Kalimantan is set for more extensive development this year.
Coulson also noted a milestone in sustainability, with over 250,000 tonnes of certified sustainable output processed across the company’s six mills in 2024.
Looking ahead, he said 2025 had started positively, with pricing in the first two months averaging $870 per tonne, and the company is actively exploring acquisition opportunities.
Proactive: Matthew, very good to speak with you today. And of course, good to speak when you're reporting record results for 2024. Take us through some of the highlights and how you achieved it Matthew.
Matthew Coulson: Yes, absolutely. And it's good to talk to you, Steve. And we're very pleased to be announcing our 2024 results today. It's been a fantastic year for the group and indeed record results. So we were able to produce once again 1.6 million tonnes of crop during the course of 2024, and we were particularly helped by some very strong pricing during the course of this year. That meant, as I say, we achieved a record profit for 2024. That meant the earnings per share were up by just about two-thirds compared to last year. And of course, as a result of that, we once again increased our dividends to shareholders. So dividends for 2024 are 52.5p. And that's just another step forward in our 30 plus years of progressive dividends to shareholders.
Proactive: Matthew, you point out in the press release that you processed 1.6 million tonnes of crop, and that was despite some weather-related challenges over the period. And planting continues as you increase your hectarage?
Matthew Coulson: That's exactly right. You're right to point out some of those weather-related challenges in Indonesia. So Indonesia as a whole, interestingly, actually reported very rarely, a small decrease in total crop across the country. So I think that puts our result in context and actually demonstrates what a great result it's been for us. But also when you come to mention planting, you know, we are continuing to plant for future growth and we planted more hectares both in Sumatra and in East Kalimantan during the course of this year. And very importantly, we agreed with our sustainability consultants that there was an opportunity to do more planting in one of our recently acquired plantations in East Kalimantan just towards the end of this year. So we didn't do much planting there in 2024, but we're very excited about planting there in 2025.
Proactive: Are you talking about Musi Rawas there?
Matthew Coulson: No apologies for that. That's our project called ABK in East Kalimantan, where we'll be really getting stuck into some planting in 2025. But you're right to also point out Musi Rawas in South Sumatra, where we continued to plant more and more hectares. We went past 10,000 hectares in 2023. We got very close to 11,000 hectares in 2024. And we expect to bust through that 11,000 hectares in early 2025.
Proactive: Another factor that you do highlight in the press release, Matthew, is the increase in sustainable output. So 96% of the crop is processed in your own six mills?
Matthew Coulson: Yes, exactly right. And we're very pleased, we've now had six mills in operation throughout the year for the first time and that really helps us increase the amount of sustainable output that we put out. And actually we achieved over a quarter of a million tonnes of certified sustainable output for the first time in 2024.
Proactive: Matthew, what does 2025 look like so far? You do point out that you're actively seeking new acquisitions. Could some of those lie ahead?
Matthew Coulson: We very much hope so. We've got off to a great start in 2025. We've seen an increase in crop. We've seen some very healthy pricing. So pricing in the first two months of 2025 have been around $870 per tonne. And to put that in context, that compares to around $820 per tonne for all of 2024. So it's a great start. And exactly to your point, we're extremely excited about the prospect of adding more hectares by acquisition as well as by planting during this year.
Proactive: Well, Matthew, I hope you'll keep us posted on any progress with that. Thank you very much for speaking with us today.