Palm oil planter Sampoerna Agro posted net revenue of IDR 719.5 billion (approx. USD $54.5 million) in Q1-2016, up 36.6 percent (y/y) from IDR 526.9 billion in the same period one year earlier, thus being the leading company in terms of revenue growth in Q1-2016 among Indonesia's listed plantation companies. Micheal Kusuma, Head of Investor Relation at Sampoerna Agro, informed reporters that the company's crude palm oil (CPO) production increased 9 percent (y/y) to 63,679 tons in Q1-2016, while the palm oil extraction rate rose from 22.3 percent in Q1-2015 to 22.5 percent in Q1-2016. Meanwhile, the company's CPO sales - in terms of volume - rose 66 percent to 91,570 tons and sales of palm kernel rose 23 percent to 14,567 tons in Q1-2016.

However, the palm oil price in Q1-2016 was lower. Sampoerna Agro's average palm oil selling price was IDR 6,547 per kilogram in Q1-2016, 17 percent lower compared to the price in the same quarter last year.

Revenue of Listed Plantation Companies in Indonesia:

Company Revenue
Q1-2015

Revenue
Q1-2016

   Y/Y
Growth
Astra Agro Lestari 3,233.4 3,017.9  -6.66%
PP London Sumatra Indonesia  888.5  804.0  -9.51%
Salim Ivomas Pratama 2,659.3 3,147.0 +18.34%
Austindo Nusantara Jaya   34.2¹   23.3¹ -31.70%
Sampoerna Agro  526.9  719.5 +36.56%
Bakrie Sumatera Plantations  511.1  334.1 -34.64%
Provident Agro  239.3  255.3  +6.66%
Jaya Agra Wattie  132.0  149.4 +13.22%
Eagle High Plantations  734.9  620.3 -15.59%
SMART 7,536.3 7,946.8  +5.45%
Dharma Satya Nusantara 1,023.9  780.0 -23.82%

in billion IDR
¹ in million US dollar
Source: Bisnis Indonesia

Recently, global palm oil prices have been rising on estimations of weak harvests in Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's leading palm oil growers (due to El Nino-inflicted dry weather and the toxic haze brought about by man-made forest fires in 2015) and rising palm oil demand in Indonesia (due to the government's biodiesel program). As a result of rising CPO prices the Indonesian government finally reintroduced the palm oil export tax. However, it is expected that palm oil prices will have trouble to rise significantly because Indonesia is expected to see higher CPO output in August, while CPO output in Malaysia already rose 16.9 percent month-on-month in March 2016.

Indonesian Palm Oil Production and Export Statistics:

   2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015   2016
Production
(million tons)
  19.2   19.4   21.8   23.5  26.5   30.0   31.5   32.5   31.0¹
Export
(million tons)
  15.1   17.1   17.1   17.6  18.2   22.4   21.7   26.4   25.0¹
Export
(in USD billion)
  15.6   10.0   16.4   20.2  21.6   20.6   21.1   18.6   17.0¹

¹ indicates forecast
Sources: Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki) & Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture

Further Reading:

Widodo Wants Moratorium on New Palm Oil Concessions in Indonesia
Palm Oil Indonesia: After Dry El Nino, Will Wet La Nina Impact CPO Output?
Indonesian Research Firm: 2016 Palm Oil Output Curbed by Drought & Haze
Indonesia & Malaysia Set Criteria for the Council of Palm Oil Producer Countries

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