M.p. Evans Share Discussion Threads

[rambutan2] 07/5/2005 19:13

reason/s for the share price fall?

[sheeneqa] 27/4/2005 07:20

M. P. EVANS GROUP PLC

Sale of 660-hectare Malaysian estate
and investment in 12,000-hectare Indonesian oil palm project




M.P. Evans Group PLC is pleased to announce the sale of a 660-hectare Malaysian
estate for £4.3 million and an Investment in a 12,000-hectare Indonesian oil
palm project. These transactions represent the first stage of the implementation
of the boards new strategy adopted since the Companys recent merger with
Bertam Holdings PLC (Bertam) and Lendu Holdings PLC (Lendu). As described
in the documents relating to the merger, the new strategy is to divest the
Groups relatively low-earning Malaysian plantations and reinvest the proceeds
in the higher-earning Indonesian palm-oil and Australian beef-cattle sectors.
With regard, specifically, to Indonesia, the aim is to acquire 50,000 hectares
of land which is suitable for oil-palm development, in addition to the Groups
existing plantations.

Sale of Sungei Reyla Estate
In line with this strategy, and as part of the means of financing the
expansionary programme in Indonesia, we are pleased to announce the sale of the
first of the Malaysian plantations, the 660-hectare Sungei Reyla Estate, for a
total selling price of RM31.4 million, approximately £4.3 million.

This sale is subject to 5% Malaysian Real Property Gains Tax and the related tax
charge is expected to be approximately RM1.4 million (approximately £0.19
million). The sale is also conditional upon the approval of the Malaysian
Foreign Investment Committee and the Estates Land Board. These permissions are
expected to be received within six to nine months.

Investment in Bangka project
We are also delighted to announce the signing of agreements relating to the
commencement of a project in the northern part of Bangka Island, which lies off
the south east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The project consists of the
acquisition and development of approximately 12,000 hectares which will be
planted with oil palms and nearby there will be a smallholders cooperative
comprising up to a further 5,000 hectacres. A crude palm oil mill will be
constructed to process the fruit from both the project and the smallholders
land. The site is well placed, being near a port from which palm oil can be
shipped, and is in an area with suitable rainfall and soil conditions. The
project will be managed from within the Group by a Malaysian general manager.

The investment in the project will be routed through an Indonesian company, PT
Gunung Pelawan Lestari (GPL), which will be owned as to 90% by the Group and
10% by the Indonesian partner, Mr Karli Boenjamin, who is an eminent Indonesian
businessman with extensive experience of oil palm developments on the island.

With regard to the financing of GPL, it is anticipated that the total funding
requirement will be in the region of US$45 million, with the peak requirement
arising in 2009. It is intended that this will be provided by a combination of
funds from within the M. P. Evans Group PLC and external loans. The plan is to
develop the project at the rate of approximately 4,000 hectares per annum and it
will be some six years from now before all of the plantings are considered
mature by which time earnings from the first plantings should have commenced.
The implementation of the project is conditional upon the necessary local
approvals but the board is confident that there should not be any difficulty in
obtaining these.

The project represents the single largest oil palm development ever undertaken,
on a majority-held basis, by the Group and it is expected that it will
substantially enhance long-term profits and cash flows.

2004 results announcement
The preliminary results for 2004 are expected to be announced on 9 May 2005.
The figures relate to the results, cash flows and net assets of the Rowe Evans
Investments PLC Group as it was at 31 December 2004 in other words, prior to
the merger with Bertam and Lendu. The merger took place on 2 February 2005 when
the Company changed its name to M. P. Evans Group PLC and the accounts of the
enlarged group will only reflect the merger after that date.

By order of the board
J F Elliott
Secretary
27 April 2005

[tiredoldbroker] 22/3/2005 19:19

Couple of news snippets for you: first from The Star, a major Malaysian newspaper:


Drought to boost CPO, rubber prices.... "This will be good for CPO prices, as expectation of lower production will trigger prices to rise to between RM1,490 and RM1,495 a tonne in the coming months, and possibly remain above RM1,500 a tonne in 2006," Chandran said.

He also expects the current high palm oil stocks, of about 1.5 million tonnes as of last month, to ease to 1.3 million tonnes next month.

"The years 2006 and 2007 will definitely be exciting for CPO, with many global players projecting demand to exceed supply," Chandran said."

M R Chandran is the CEO of the Malaysian Palm Oil Association.

Also two items from the Business Times (

"Crude palm oil (CPO) prices rose yesterday on news that India had raised its crude soyabean oil base import price by 10.3 per cent following an increase in world prices.
Traders said the move boosted CPO prices tremendously to the RM1,470 level from RM1,440 a tonne level on Monday and is seen hitting RM1,500 a tonne by next week.

"This news caused soyabean oil to become slightly expensive which could benefit cheaper palm oil and other edible oils," a trader told Business Times yesterday."

and also

"Malaysian Palm Oil Association head Datuk Sabri Ahmad wants palm oil industry players to remove the global perception that the commodity should always be traded at a discount to its rival, soyabean oil.
Speaking to Business Times on today's Bursa Malaysia-organised Annual Palm and Lauric Conference and Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Sabri said in terms of nutritional and functional values, palm oil is better than its rival.

"Palm oil content such as tocotrienol is a more powerful anti-oxidant compared to soyabean's tocopherol and palm oil is naturally hydrogenated and free of transfatty acids," said Sabri, who is also Golden Hope Plantations group chief executive.

Palm oil has been trading at a discount to soyabean oil over the past 20 years. It is currently trading between US$60 and US$70 (US$1 = RM3.80) per tonne cheaper than soyabean. In the past, the discount had even widened to as much as US$150.

"Palm oil gives better value for money and has non-food applications such as in manufacturing soap and detergent," Sabri said."

[gateside] 07/3/2005 16:06

Nice to see a fair bit of interest in MPE. Well done to those who bought a number of years ago and have already made a good profit.

tiredoldbroker...It sounds like you know a lot about the company, thanks for the knowledgeable post.

Still researching the Palm Oil Industry and will post further valid info here, as I come across it.

[getscenic] 07/3/2005 15:57

should get a boost from bio diesel producers (see DOO and BFC) both of which are just getting production facilities on line.

[topvest] 06/3/2005 14:42

tiredoldbroker - I bought my shares in Rowe Evans about 5 years ago at c50p and it's done quite well since then. This is a good commodity play and a robust company. The share price will fluctuate with the palm oil price, but they have some decent property as well. I won't buy any more for now, but am certainly a holder.

[gateside] 06/3/2005 08:03

Hi topvest.

Bought into MPE this week. I feel that the clearer company structure should make this share a lot more liquid and the larger Market Cap should make it more noticeable. I like that the fact that they will be selling off land in order to finance a substantial expansion in their Indonesian plantations.

Sounds promising.

[topvest] 06/3/2005 07:54

Excellent company this one. Held Rowe Evans and Bertam for a couple of years. It now looks a great deal more attractive now that the cross-shareholding structures have been sorted out.

[gateside] 06/3/2005 07:38

Oil World: Malaysia's palm oil exports may rise 6.7% from The Malaysia Star

Palm oil exports from Malaysia may rise as much as 6.7% this year because a drop in prices has made the edible oil more attractive to buyers, Oil World said.

Malaysia's palm oil exports may rise to as much as 13.5 million metric tons this year, from 12.6 million tons in 2004, Thomas Mielke, director of the research company, said at the Annual Palm and Lauric Oils Conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

"We're going to see big exports because of world demand and low prices," Mielke said. Hamburg-based Oil World's estimates are closely watched by traders of edible oils.

Plantations companies in Malaysia and Indonesia, the world's top palm-oil producers, expanded cultivation between 2001 and 2003 to take advantage of higher prices.

Prices have dropped about 30% in the past year because the scale of expansion raised concern about excess supply.

A record US harvest of soybeans, used to make a rival oil, also helped push down palm oil prices.

Palm oil futures prices in Malaysia will probably trade between RM1,400 and RM1,550 this year as concern about the additional output eases, Mielke said.

Malaysian palm oil production may rise about 5% to 14.7 million tons in 2005, Mielke said. Production increased by 4.7% in 2004, according to preliminary figures from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board.

Lower rainfall in Sabah and parts of the peninsula may limit yields, Mielke said. In 2004, Sabah had about 80% of the rainfall it normally receives, raising the possibility of an El Nino developing, he told delegates in his presentation.

A drought in Brazil, the world's second-largest supplier of soybeans, may reduce excess supply following a record harvest in the US, supporting global prices of edible oils, Mielke said.

Oil World has cut its estimate for Brazil's soybean crop to 58 million metric tons this year, compared with a January estimate of 63.4 million metric tons, he said.

Vegetable oils such as soybean, rape and palm, will also benefit from higher crude oil prices, which are fueling demand for alternative fuels

[gateside] 06/3/2005 07:25

COMPANY WEBSITE:

A good introduction to Palm Oil ~

[sheeneqa] 18/2/2005 16:28

Price Data
Currency UK Pounds
Price 180.00p
Change Today +1.00p
Volume 2,022
17-Feb Close 179.00p
Shares Issued 52.32m
Market Cap £94.17m
Year End 31-Dec

Company must have bought the 20mill back.....

[gateside] 18/2/2005 12:44

SOLID LOOKING PERFORMANCE FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS FROM ALL THREE COMPANIES THAT NOW MAKE UP MP EVANS

[sheeneqa] 17/2/2005 20:19

Price Data
Currency UK Pounds
Price 179.00p
Change Today -3.50p
Volume 41,844
16-Feb Close 182.50p
Shares Issued 73.42m
Market Cap £131.43m
Year End 31-Dec
And this from digital look...

[gateside] 17/2/2005 15:05

At what price were Rowe Evans & Lendu last traded at and how many shares in each?

[sheeneqa] 17/2/2005 13:38

Was hoping to spark some debate on MPE,

BTM had approx 27m shares last traded at 3.15p = 85m market cap....

How much for rowe evans and lendu?

[gateside] 16/2/2005 22:32

Thanks for highlighting this on the Linton Park thread

[sheeneqa] 16/2/2005 15:07

M. P. EVANS GROUP PLC


SENNAH ESTATE LAWSUIT


Further to the announcement made on 18 May 2004, the board is pleased to report
that the appeal to the High Court in Medan, Indonesia has been successful and
the decision of the Medan District Court on 12 May 2004 has been reversed.

As referred to in note 25 of the 2003 annual report, on 9 September 2003, DR H
Rahmat Shah, the 20% shareholder of PT Sembada Sennah Maju which owns Sennah
Estate, filed a lawsuit against the 80% shareholder of that company, PT
Pangkatan Indonesia, which is itself 80% owned by M. P. Evans Group PLC. Sennah
Estate consists of 1,813 hectares and forms part of the Group's Indonesian
plantations of which 10,014 hectares are held through majority-held companies
and 25,276 hectares are owned by associated companies. The lawsuit demanded
that the sale and purchase agreement dated 19 March 2002, by which PT Pangkatan
Indonesia acquired its 80% holding in PT Sembada Sennah Maju, should be
cancelled.

On 12 May 2004, the Medan District Court found in favour of DR H Rahmat Shah
ordering that the shares be handed back to him and that he repay the purchase
consideration of some US$3.61 million to PT Pangkatan Indonesia within twelve
months. However, PT Pangkatan Indonesia immediately lodged an appeal to the
Medan High Court seeking to have the District Court's decision set aside. The
appeal was successful, allowing PT Pangkatan Indonesia to retain its shares in
PT Sembada Sennah Maju.



By order of the board
J F Elliott
Secretary

[sheeneqa] 14/2/2005 11:26

Share certificates in respect of the new MPE shares will be despatched to
existing Rowe Evans shareholders to reflect the change of name and to former
Bertam and Lendu shareholders on or before 16 February 2005.


The Rowe Evans board intends that all MPE shares will be admitted to CREST and
it is expected that the shares will be so admitted and accordingly enabled for
settlement in CREST on or around 16 February 2005. Accordingly, settlement of
transactions in MPE shares following 16 February 2005 may take place within the
CREST system if any shareholder so wishes.


Following the issue of the 23,220,527 new MPE shares described above, as set out
in the shareholder circulars referred to above, it is intended that 20,792,133
of the issued shares, which will then be held by wholly-owned subsidiaries of
MPE, will be cancelled following which there will be 50,501,466 MPE shares in
issue.

[sheeneqa] 13/2/2005 10:20

Rowe Evans Investments PLC with Bertam Holdings PLC & Lendu Holdings PLC all merged to form MBE.....