MP Evans Group PLC (AIM:MPE), which produces palm oil from plantations in Indonesia, said it harvested more fresh fruit bunches in 2025 from its own land and affiliated smallholders, while continuing to pull back from buying in lower-margin crops from outside suppliers.
The company said crop volumes from its own estates rose 8% last year to just over 1 million tonnes, with a further 5% increase in harvests from smallholders working under its management schemes.
That helped offset a sharp drop in purchases from independent third-party growers, which fell by 41% to 229,200 tonnes as the group pressed ahead with its plan to focus on more profitable, in-house production.
Total crop volumes across the group, including external purchases, dipped 4% to 1.54 million tonnes.
Output of crude palm oil, or CPO (the unrefined product extracted from the fruit of oil palms), slipped 3% to 360,800 tonnes, while production of palm kernels, which are processed separately, also fell by 3%.
The company said the decline in CPO volumes was more than made up for by stronger prices. The average selling price last year was $866 a tonne, up 5% from $823 in 2024. Prices for palm kernels jumped even more sharply, up 42% to $748 a tonne.
"This high-price environment has had a positive effect on the group's revenue and profitability," the company said, pointing to earlier guidance from November. Prices remained “robust” into the new year, with the company recently tendering its CPO output at around $850 per tonne.
Chairman Peter Hadsley-Chaplin added: "The group has been able to achieve impressive operational results in 2025, with a clear focus on processing the Group's high-quality crop through its own milling facilities."
Flooding at its Simpang Kiri estate in Aceh had no material impact on the business last year, the group said, with remedial work now well advanced. A full set of financial results is due to follow in the company’s annual report.