MP Evans Group PLC (AIM:MPE) delivered a record performance in 2025, driven by strong palm oil prices, rising production and continued expansion.
Chief executive Matthew Coulson earlier this week spoke to Proactive about the key drivers behind the results and the company’s long-term growth strategy. In this Q&A, he discusses sustainability progress, acquisition opportunities and the outlook for 2026.
Proactive: I'm joined by Matthew Coulson, the chief executive of MP Evans. Matthew very good to speak with you today. 2025 another record year for MP Evans. What do you see as the main drivers behind that performance and what are you most pleased with?
Matthew Coulson: Good morning Stephen. Well, you're quite right to highlight the fact that it's been a great year for MP Evans. Once again, we increased the amount of crops that we harvested from the areas that we manage in the year. And we saw a very strong year for pricing once again in 2025. So the average price that we achieved for the output from our mills was $866 per ton of crude palm oil, up on the previous year.
But we also saw a benefit in terms of the mix of crop that we processed. And that helped us in terms of profitability as well. And we take all of those factors together. And that meant we saw a very strong year for profitability. Gross profit of $142 million, translating to earnings per share of more than £1.60 during the year.
Proactive: Matthew, beyond the headline financial results, how would you describe the progress the group is making in building a larger, higher quality and more sustainable business for the long term?
Matthew Coulson: Yes. Well, you're right to highlight the fact that we grew during 2025. We were able to add to our planted portfolio. We bought 3,000 more hectares in East Kalimantan, adding to our Bumi Mas project, making that now a 12,000 hectare project, which is fantastic scaling up there.
But we also carried on planting. So we planted new hectares in Kota Bangun, also in East Kalimantan, and in our Musi Rawas project in South Sumatra. So that meant we ended the year with just under 71,000 planted hectares. Really, as you say, scaling up, which is superb.
But we're also committed to being a sustainable business. That's one of our core strategic priorities. And we saw that in an increase in certified sustainable output during the year, up to 275,000 tonnes of certified sustainable output. And we're recognised externally for our efforts on sustainability. We've spoken before about the SPOTT index that the Zoological Society of London produces each year, and we saw another increase in our rating from SPOTT to over 90% during the course of 2025.
Proactive: You've talked about a strong start to 2026 and continued growth opportunities. What gives you the confidence in the outlook and where do you see the biggest opportunities for MP Evans over the next phase?
Matthew Coulson: Obviously today we're reporting on 2025 and it's great that we are. But 2026 has already got off to a great start and continues to go well. Pricing remains strong. So we're reporting today on how we've performed in the first two months of 2026, and that's going really well.
But looking further into the future, we remain extremely enthusiastic about prospects still to come. We are assessing more opportunities to grow, more opportunities to acquire further planted acreage. And we have the balance sheet to do that. We've repaid all outstanding debt last year. We have cash on the balance sheet. We think that gives us a great opportunity to continue growing, doing more acquisitions of the type that you saw last year, continuing to improve the prospects for the group and for its shareholders as we move forward.
Proactive: Matthew congratulations on these latest numbers. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us.