First Resources (EB5) AGM 2024 presentation summary

Financial performance review

• FY2023 sales were US$980.6m, down 20.0%; EBITDA was US$282.0m, down 44.6%; underlying net profit was US$146.6m, down 56.1%.

• Gross margin fell to 37.0% from 51.4%; EBITDA margin declined to 28.8% from 41.5%, reflecting softer palm oil prices, partly offset by higher sales volume.

• FFB harvested rose 0.5% to 3.58m tonnes; CPO production increased 8.0% to 951,425 tonnes and PK production rose 5.0% to 207,436 tonnes.

• Nucleus CPO cash production cost was US$327/tonne versus US$276 in FY2022; CPO yield improved to 4.2 from 4.1 tonnes/ha and extraction rate to 22.7% from 22.3%.

• At 31 Dec 2023, cash was US$162.9m and net debt US$74.9m, versus net cash of US$144.6m a year earlier; total equity was US$1,401.8m.

Dividend announcements

• Proposed final dividend of 3.70 Singapore cents/share; together with the 2.50 cents/share interim dividend paid in September 2023, FY2023 ordinary dividends total 6.20 cents/share.

• FY2023 ordinary dividends represented 50% of underlying net profit, matching the stated payout ratio for FY2022 and FY2021.

Strategic initiatives and plans

• 2024 capital expenditure is expected to be ~US$200m, covering plantation development, infrastructure, processing facilities, and CPO mill upgrades and maintenance.

• Plans include constructing the 20th mill, replanting oil palms, converting rubber areas to oil palms, and maintaining immature plantations.

• Strategy focuses on developing high-quality plantation assets, aligning milling capacity with FFB growth, cost containment, operational efficiency, and responsible cultivation.

• RSPO certification covered nine subsidiaries, six mills, and more than 63,000 hectares as of Dec 2023, equal to 36% of nucleus planted area; target is 100% certification by 2026.