The Director and General Manager of BOPP Plc, Samuel Avaala
The Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP) Plc last year recorded a profit of GH¢24.6 million, relative to the GH¢9.8 million recorded the previous.
This represent a 256 percent growth of the figure recorded in 2019.
The Director and General Manager of BOPP Plc, Samuel Avaala, who disclosed this during the company’s turn of the Fact Behind the Figures series of the Ghana Stock Exchange in Accra last Tuesday, said performance came on the back of the sustained operational efficiencies, strong production volumes and the recovery of world market crude palm oil prices which begun early 2020.
He said the profit for second half of 2020 stood at GH¢37.8 million, representing 289 percent increase of prior year levels.
Mr Avaala indicated that the 2021 half-year topline growth of 63 percent was due to the bullish world market crude palm oil prices coupled with the higher crop productivity from both the nucleus plantation and the smallholders and outgrowers.
“Operational efficiencies have also seen sustained high levels and continues to improve while cost disciple practices have ensured that unit production cost have remained controlled in line with plan,” he said.
The General Manager said BOPP Plc was set to maintain the strong profit trend to the end of year by leveraging on its core competencies for production and taking advantage of the bullish world market price trend.
“The company is committed to conducting its business in a socially responsible and ecologically sustainable manner through to use internationally accepted best practices which deliver sustainable stakeholder and shareholder value,” Mr Avaala, said.
In a brief background about the company, he said based at Adum Banso Estate in the Mpohor district of the Western Region, Benso Oil Palm Plantation PLC was established in 1976 through a JV between UAC Ghana and the Government of Ghana.
He said Land preparation and planting started in 1976 and the second generation replanting was completed in 2017 after systematically felling the first generation palms in accordance with economic life cycle trends.
“The government of Ghana and UAC (Unilever) divested their interest in the company in 2004 and 2011 respectively and now Wilmar Africa Ltd (producers of the frytol brand and a subsidiary of Wilmar International which is listed on the Singapore exchange) are the majority shareholders with more than ten thousand individual and institutional shareholders including SSNIT also as shareholders,” Mr Avaala, said.
He said the company is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange since 2004 and cultivated oil palm, and produces crude palm oil which was supplied to Wilmar Africa Ltd in Tema where it was refined into frytol cooking oil while the harder fractions went into the making of JAMA Soap.