Dekel Agri-Vision Plc (LON:DKL), the West African agriculture company focused on building a portfolio of sustainable and diversified projects, has provided its Q1 2025 production update for the Ayenouan palm oil project in Côte d’Ivoire and the substantial positive step-change in the performance of our cashew processing plant at Tiebissou, Côte d’Ivoire.
Palm Oil Operation Key Performance Metrics: Q1 2025 vs. Q1 2024
· Palm Oil Operational Highlights: For Q1 2025, Palm Oil Operation revenue is expected to exceed Q1 2024 by over 45%, driven by strong Crude Palm Oil (‘CPO’) and Palm Kernel Oil (‘PKO’) pricing, coupled with stable production volumes.
· CPO Production: 10,982 tonnes, reflecting a modest decrease of 4.6%.
· CPO Extraction Rate: Increased by 4.7%, reaching 22.2%, which are robust levels historically.
· CPO Sales Volume: Up by 11.0%. Local demand for CPO remains robust, with local inventory levels remaining relatively tight due to lower FFB (‘Fresh Fruit Bunch’) stock levels over the past 6-9 months.
· CPO Sales Price: Increased by 27.0% to €969 per tonne, driven by tighter local inventory pushing local prices toward the international CPO price, which remains near historical highs.
· PKO Sales Price: A significant 217% increase in sales volumes, coupled with a 66% surge in PKO sales prices. Local demand for PKO has improved substantially in recent months, providing strong profit support to our core CPO sales.
| Q1-2025 | Q1-2024 | Change | |
| FFB processed (tonnes) | 49,512 | 54,381 | -9.0% |
| CPO Extraction Rate | 22.2% | 21.2% | 4.7% |
| CPO production (tonnes) | 10,982 | 11,510 | -4.6% |
| CPO Sales (tonnes) | 10,343 | 9,317 | 11.0% |
| Average CPO price per tonne | €968 | €762 | 27.0% |
| Palm Kernel Oil (‘PKO’) production (tonnes) | 674 | 641 | 5.1% |
| PKO Sales (tonnes) | 615 | 194 | 217.0% |
| Average PKO price per tonne | €1,217 | €733 | 66.0% |
Cashew Operation Key Performance Metrics: Q1 2025 vs. Q1 2024
· Cashew Operational Highlights: As previously guided, the Cashew Operation has shown improvement in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024. Key operational metrics have increased:
o RCN (‘Raw Cashew Nut’) processed increased by 219.6%
o Cashew production rose by 322%
o Cashew sales prices climbed by 84.9%
o These results support our outlook that the Cashew Operation is on track to achieve its first EBITDA-positive year in 2025.
· RCN Purchasing: The RCN buying season commenced in February, as previously announced. We have already secured a significant portion of the initial 2,500-tonne batch, with further procurement scheduled in the coming months.
· RCN Processing: RCN processing volumes increased 219.6%, driven by enhanced processing capabilities, as detailed in our Q4 2024 production update. Notably, March 2025 marked a record 451 tonnes of RCN processed. We remain on track to meet our 2025 processing target of 6,000-7,000 tonnes, with additional capacity to be brought online in H2 2025 at minimal capex. This quarter also included the processing of 351 tonnes of third-party RCN to produce a new specialised unpeeled product. This product line, which delivers margins comparable to our own RCN processing, will serve as a complement to our internal inventory.
· Processing Efficiency: New equipment installed during late 2024 has led to tangible gains in processing efficiency. Key improvements included:
o Better whole-to-broken nut ratios
o Enhanced peeling performance
o Increased extraction rates- while the headline extraction rate of 24% includes unpeeled cashews, the normalised rate of 21.5% for internal RCN represents a significant improvement over Q1 2024.
· Production & Sales: Higher processing volumes are translating directly into output and sales:
o Cashew production rose 322%
o Cashew sales volumes increased 84.9%
· Sales Prices: Prices for peeled cashews in Q1 2025 rose 78.5% compared to Q1 2024. Following the substantial gains observed in prices from Q4 2024, prices have stabilised at current levels.
| Q1-2025 | Q1-2024 | Change | |
| RCN Inventory | |||
| Opening RCN Inventory (tonnes) | 742 | 1,751 | -57.6% |
| RCN Purchased (tonnes) | 1,684 | 190 | 786.3% |
| RCN Processed (tonnes) | (879) | (275) | 219.6% |
| RCN Sold (tonnes) | Nil | (42) | n/a |
| Closing RCN Inventory (tonnes) | 1,547 | 1,624 | -4.7% |
| Cashew Processing | |||
| Opening Cashews (tonnes) | 79 | 176 | -55.1% |
| RCN Processed (tonnes) | 879 | 275 | 219.6% |
| Cashew Extraction Rate | 24.0% | 18.2% | 31.9% |
| Cashew Produced (tonnes) | 211 | 50 | 322.0% |
| Cashew Sales (tonnes) | 172 | 93 | 84.9% |
| Closing Cashews (tonnes) | 118 | 133 | -11.3% |
| Average Sales prices per tonne | |||
| – Unpeeled Cashews | n/a | €3,150 | n/a |
| – Peeled Cashews (including mixed) | €5,800 | €3,250 | 78.5% |
Lincoln Moore, Dekel Agri-Vision’s Executive Director, said: “With Q1 2025 Palm Oil revenue estimated to be over 45% higher compared to Q1 2024, driven by a 27% lift in CPO prices and a 217% surge in PKO prices, our Palm Oil Operation continues to deliver solid profitability.
“Our Cashew Operation has delivered a step-change in performance in Q1 2025, with production up 322% and pricing up 78.5% compared to Q1 2024. We are firmly on track for our first EBITDA-positive year – a key milestone in returning value to our shareholders.”
