Jakarta – Even though 2021 was full of challenges, PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk still showed a positive performance. Amidst of the ongoing threat of the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of several slowing factors, the company, which is engaged in oil palm plantations, has recorded an increase in the production of fresh fruit bunches (FFB).
One of the reasons for this increase in production is the partnership program run by the Company. “The Company’s partnership program has gone very well in 2021,” said President Director of PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk, Santosa in a Public Expose after the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) which was held virtually, April 13, 2022.
The positive impact of this partnership, according to Santosa, can be seen from the increase in third party FFB which increased by 25.6% to 3.27 million tons compared to 2.61 million tons in 2020.
CPO production has also increased. Throughout 2021, the Company produced a total of 1.47 million tons of CPO, or an increase of 3.1% compared to the Company’s CPO production in the previous year.
Meanwhile, sales of palm oil and its derivatives decreased by 5.6%, from 2.03 million tons in 2020 to 1.91 million tons in 2021. Nevertheless, the Company recorded a net profit of Rp 1.97 trillion in year 2021.
The increase was supported by the Company’s revenue, which increased from Rp. 18.81 trillion in 2020 to Rp. 24.32 trillion in 2021, or an increase of 29.3%. “This increase was due to an increase in the average selling price of CPO by 32.2% to IDR 11,294/kg compared to 2020 of IDR 8,545/kg,” continued Santosa. The average selling price of kernels also increased by 67.4% to Rp 7,305/kg in 2021 from Rp 4,365/kg in 2020.
The positive impact of the partnership has convinced the Company to continue to strengthen cooperation with partner oil palm farmers. In line with the digitalization program that has been running since 2018, a new phase of digital technology implementation has begun to touch farmers who are the Company’s partners. Service to partner farmers is expected to be better.
Sustainability Commitment
The Company is committed to implementing sustainable governance. As a basis, the Company has a sustainability policy which is implemented in a 5-year action plan, namely 2021-2025, which is also a guide in achieving the target of implementing sustainability and having a positive impact on the wider ecosystem.
The Company has given special attention to operational activities and corporate social responsibility (CSR) that can contribute and support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a result, the Company has identified that the Company’s operational and CSR activities have achieved 15 of the 17 SDGs goals, with 55 targets and 99 indicators.
Not only applying the principle of sustainability into the company’s operations. The Company also cooperates with all relevant stakeholders, including farming communities in the company’s supply chain network, to continue to raise awareness and jointly apply the principles of sustainability.(*)
