Plantation acquisition to boost New Britain Palm Oil production
NBPOL specialises in sustainable palm oil. It is one of a handful of European companies now in a position to supply segregated sustainable palm oil, along with Loders Croklaan and Lipidos Santiga. It is nearing completion of a new refinery in Liverpool, UK, dedicated to oil that has been kept apart in the supply chain all the way from its origins in certified plantations.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the company processed 1.47m tonnes of palm fruit in 2009, to produce a total of 366,000 tonnes of crude palm oil and palm kernel oil. Production was seen to be 13 per cent higher than the previous year.
The new acquisition, of 80 per cent shares in CTP (PNG), is expected to increase sales for the company considerably. Last year revenues were US$323.8m, and as of February some 164,000 tonnes of palm oil had been forward sold out of projected 2010 production, at an average price of $ 746 per tonne.
The acquisition comes with a price tag of $175m in cash, plus additional consideration relating to stocks and capital expenditure.
When the deal plans were first announced in February, NBPOL chairman Antonio Monteiro de Castro, said: "This is a transformational acquisition for New Britain Palm Oil which is consistent with our strategy of growing the business organically and through acquisition.”
It is considered a great strategic and geographic fit, since the 25,000+ hectares of plantations, across three estates, and five mills, are situated close to its existing base in Papua New Guinea.
“NBPOL is confident that it will successfully and efficiently integrate the assets of CTP PNG into the existing NBPOL group,” said Monteiro de Castro today. He added that the company will “benefit greatly increased production, economies of scale, operational efficiencies, and a larger potential source of fully segregated, palm oil, available direct from plantation to consumer."
The company counts United Biscuits amongst its customers of sustainable palm oil.
