Dekeloil Public Limited 25% increase in capacity at palm oil mill (2637U)
23 October 2017 - 5:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMDKL
RNS Number : 2637U
Dekeloil Public Limited
23 October 2017
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR'). Upon the
publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information
Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in
the public domain.
DekelOil Public Limited / Index: AIM / Epic: DKL / Sector: Food
Producers
23 October 2017
DekelOil Public Limited ('DekelOil' or the 'Company')
25% increase in capacity at one of West Africa's largest palm
oil mills
DekelOil Public Limited, operator and 100% owner of the
profitable and vertically integrated Ayenouan palm oil project in
Côte d'Ivoire, is pleased to announce plans to increase the
capacity of its crude palm oil ('CPO') extraction mill ('the
Mill'), which is one of West Africa's largest, by 25% to 75 tonnes
per hour ('tph') from 60tph. This will allow the Company to
maximise production during the peak harvesting season in Côte
d'Ivoire, which typically runs from mid-February to early June.
The Mill's current 60tph capacity is made up of two lines each
capable of processing 30 tph of fresh fruit bunches. As part of the
planned upgrade, one of these lines is to be increased to 45tph to
bring total capacity up to 75tph. This matches the Mill's total
press capacity, which is comprised of five presses, each of which
is capable of pressing 15 tonnes of sterilised fruits per hour.
The upgrade is therefore expected to increase the volumes of CPO
produced at Ayenouan in the peak harvesting season. For example, in
March and April 2017, the Mill produced approximately 6,500 tonnes
and 5,000 tonnes of CPO respectively. Had it not been necessary to
slow down the presses to prevent and deal with the previously
announced bottlenecks in the kernel separation process, the
Directors believe production during the month would have reached
between 7,000 and 8,000 tonnes. Following the upgrade, the Mill
will be able to produce up to 9,000 tonnes of CPO in a peak month.
The Company expects that the overall capacity of the Mill will
remain unchanged, but this adjustment is expected to enable the
Company to significantly increase CPO production during the peak
harvesting season.
The estimated cost of the upgrade, including installation, is
less than EUR100,000. An order for the required equipment has been
placed with PalmitEco Engineering Sdn Bhd (formerly Modipalm
Engineering), the leading Malaysian engineering company which
constructed the Mill. The work will be completed in time for the
peak harvesting season in 2018 without any disruption to normal
operations.
DekelOil Executive Director Lincoln Moore said, "Our knowledge
and understanding of the operating conditions for the Mill continue
to grow with each cycle we operate through. In terms of the
risk/reward trade off, the investment case for this upgrade to the
Mill's processing capacity is clear. We believe this
non-disruptive, low cost upgrade will help avoid the bottlenecks
that can arise when processing high volumes of fruit, and as a
result it will materially increase peak production capacity. This
will allow us to take full advantage of the peak harvesting season,
thereby increasing production and revenues. Maximising cash flows
at Ayenouan will help fund further expansion of the business as
well as our progressive dividend policy, and I look forward to
providing further updates on our progress."
** ENDS **
For further information please visit the Company's website or
contact:
DekelOil Public Limited
Youval Rasin
Shai Kol +44 (0) 207
Lincoln Moore 236 1177
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe
(Nomad and Broker)
Andrew Craig +44 (0) 207
Richard Salmond 894 7000
Beaufort Securities Limited
(Broker)
Zoe Alexander +44 (0) 207
Elliot Hance 382 8300
Optiva Securities Limited
(Broker)
Christian Dennis +44 (0) 203
Jeremy King 137 1903
St Brides Partners Ltd (Investor
Relations) +44 (0) 207
Frank Buhagiar 236 1177
Notes:
DekelOil Public Limited is a low cost producer of palm oil in
West Africa, which it is focused on rapidly expanding. Feedstock
for the Mill comes from several co-operatives and thousands of
smallholders, however it also has nearly 1,900 hectares of its own
plantations. Furthermore, it has a world-class nursery with a 1
million seedlings a year capacity.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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