AEP Plantations PLC AGM Trading Update: Mixed Production, Pinago Acquisition On Track, Replanting Progress and IPO Update

AEP Plantations AGM trading update: mixed production, but prices and Pinago give support

AEP Plantations has put out a fairly balanced AGM trading update for the first five months of 2026. The short version is this: production from its own estates was a bit softer, but palm oil prices stayed firm, external fruit purchases rose, and the newly acquired Pinago Group has started to contribute.

That makes this a mixed but broadly steady update rather than a warning sign. There are a few soft spots investors should not ignore, but the company is still sounding confident about meeting market expectations for the full year.

AEP Plantations key numbers for January to May 2026

For palm oil companies, the main operating measures are FFB, CPO and PK. FFB means fresh fruit bunches, the harvested oil palm fruit. CPO is crude palm oil, and PK is palm kernel.

Metric	5 months 2026	5 months 2025	Change
Own FFB production	421,900 mt	433,500 mt	-2.7%
External FFB purchased	524,000 mt	492,000 mt	+6.5%
CPO production	173,200 mt	176,300 mt	-1.8%
PK production	43,500 mt	43,500 mt	Flat
Average CPO ex-mill price	$859/mt	$878/mt	-2.2%
Average PK ex-mill price	$802/mt	$742/mt	+8.1%

On the face of it, these numbers are respectable rather than exciting. Production is slightly down, but not by a dramatic amount, and pricing has held up well enough to soften the blow.

Why AEP Plantations own FFB production fell in 2026

The main weak point in this update is own FFB production, which slipped 2.7% to 421,900 mt. AEP says this was mainly due to lower yields in North Sumatra and Riau, where it is replanting ageing palms and has suspended fertiliser application in those replanting areas.

That matters because lower production from the company’s own estates is usually a key sign of how the core plantation base is performing. In this case, the reason is not especially alarming, because replanting is a planned long-term investment, but it still creates a short-term drag on output.

There was also a delayed cropping cycle in parts of North Sumatra. In plain English, the harvest came through later than normal, which can shift production timing and temporarily dent reported volumes.

There were some offsets. Kalimantan performed better, and AEP also included one month of output from Pinago Group after completing that acquisition.

External FFB purchases rose, but CPO production still dipped

External FFB purchases increased 6.5% to 524,000 mt. That sounds strong, although the company helpfully breaks out the Pinago effect: 4.2% of the overall growth came from Pinago’s one-month contribution. Strip that out, and external purchases still rose 2.3% year on year, which is perfectly decent.

Even so, total CPO production fell 1.8% to 173,200 mt. AEP says this was mainly due to lower volumes of its own estate fruit being processed, plus higher volumes of FFB being sold to third-party mills in North Sumatra and Kalimantan rather than processed internally.

That is worth watching. It is not necessarily bad in itself, but it does mean the top-line fruit flow did not fully convert into higher in-house CPO output.

Palm oil prices stayed supportive for AEP Plantations in 2026

The encouraging part of this update is pricing. The average CPO ex-Rotterdam price was $1,416/mt, almost unchanged from $1,419/mt a year earlier. Ex-mill pricing – effectively the realised price at the mill gate – dipped just 2.2% to $859/mt.

That is important because stable pricing can protect earnings even when production is a little soft. PK pricing was stronger still, with the average ex-mill price rising 8.1% to $802/mt.

So while volumes were mixed, the price backdrop remained favourable. For a commodity producer, that can make a big difference.

Pinago acquisition contribution: small so far, bigger test still to come

Pinago Group only contributed for May 2026 in this set of numbers, so this is just an early glimpse. That one-month contribution was:

• Own FFB production of 13,800 mt
• External FFB purchased of 20,600 mt
• CPO production of 7,400 mt
• PK production of 1,500 mt

The obvious point here is that Pinago has not yet had enough time to transform the group numbers. The bigger benefit, if it arrives as management expects, should be clearer in the second half when more months are included.

That is one reason management still sounds upbeat on full-year expectations. Investors will want to see that confidence backed up in later updates.

Replanting progress and KAP mill construction show AEP is still investing for growth

AEP planted 64 hectares and replanted 641 hectares in the first five months of 2026. That keeps it aligned with its objective to replant around 10,000 hectares over the next five years. Since 2024, total replanted area has reached about 4,800 hectares.

Replanting is a classic short-term pain, long-term gain story. Older palms become less productive, so replacing them can temporarily reduce output, but it should improve yields and estate quality over time.

The group’s ninth mill at KAP Estate in Kalimantan also appears to be moving along sensibly. It is still scheduled for commissioning in December 2026, with building and structural works about 65% complete, civil works about 35% complete, and fabrication of mechanical machinery about 75% complete at the end of May.

That is a positive operational marker. New mill capacity can support future processing volumes, though the financial impact is not disclosed in this announcement.

IPO update and Indonesian export rules: less dramatic than they first sounded

AEP also updated on the possible listing of PT AEP Nusantara Plantations Tbk on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. The IPO is still under consideration and progressing, with a target of Q4 2026, subject to market conditions and regulatory approvals.

That is promising, but still not bankable. Until approvals are in place and market conditions cooperate, it remains a live option rather than a done deal.

On the Indonesian Government’s commodity export proposals, the message was reassuring. AEP says the policy does not directly affect the group because it sells its CPO only to domestic refineries, not overseas.

That should calm any nerves around regulatory disruption. It does not remove country risk altogether, but in this case the company has given a clear reason why the direct impact should be minimal.

What this AEP Plantations AGM trading update means for retail investors

My read is that this is a decent update with a few visible pressures, not a knockout result. The negatives are clear enough: own FFB production is down, CPO production is down, and part of the growth story still depends on Pinago delivering over a longer period.

But there are real positives too. Commodity pricing stayed firm, PK pricing improved nicely, the Pinago acquisition has started to feed in, replanting is on track, the new mill is progressing, and management says it still expects to hit market expectations.

If you already follow AEP, the biggest question is whether the current softness is temporary and strategic – mainly replanting-related – or whether it starts to become a more persistent production issue. Based on this RNS alone, it still looks more like short-term disruption in support of longer-term estate renewal.

So the overall verdict is cautiously positive. Not flawless, but steady enough, with enough moving parts in the second half of 2026 to keep the investment case alive.