Camellia PLC Reports H1 2025 Results with Focus on Value Enhancement Plan

Camellia H1 2025: modest revenue growth, seasonal loss, and a sharper focus on value

Camellia has posted a seasonal first-half loss but with a clear plan to tighten the portfolio and grow profitability. Revenue edged up to £107.7 million, while the trading loss held broadly flat at £9.6 million. Management is leaning into its Value Enhancement Plan – selling non-core assets, backing higher-return crops, and moving to a single annual dividend.

Remember, Camellia’s revenues are weighted to the second half because most crops are harvested and sold later in the year. The Board expects higher full-year revenue and an improved trading performance in 2025 versus 2024, but crop yields and prices remain uncertain at this stage.

Key numbers investors should know

Metric (HY25 unless stated)	Figure
Revenue	£107.7 million (HY24: £105.1 million)
Trading loss (underlying operating result)	£9.6 million loss (HY24: £9.7 million loss)
EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation)	£6.2 million loss (HY24: £1.9 million loss)
Loss before tax	£10.4 million loss (HY24: £11.0 million loss)
Loss attributable to shareholders	£11.8 million loss (HY24: £13.6 million loss)
Cash and liquid assets at 30 June 2025	£81.7 million (31 Dec 2024: £21.3 million)
Net assets	£312.4 million (HY24: £357.2 million; 31 Dec 2024: £347.7 million)
Disposals proceeds	£11.2 million from a tea estate, properties and collections in H1
Shareholder distributions in 2025	£18.9 million (Tender Offer, buyback, and 260p final dividend)
FX impact	£3.4 million exchange loss on US$ treasury deposits

Value Enhancement Plan: what’s changing and why it matters

The Value Enhancement Plan (VEP) announced in May is the main event. In plain English: simplify the group, raise cash from non-core assets, invest in the winners, and reduce risk. That means more capital for avocados, macadamias and arable where returns look attractive, and fewer high-risk or lower-return assets.

We saw the first steps in H1: two Indian tea estates sold (one post period end), five properties offloaded, and further sales from the collections. Proceeds helped lift cash to £81.7 million and funded a meaningful return to shareholders, including a 260p final dividend (£6.6 million). Management is also moving to one dividend a year – sensible given harvest seasonality makes interim payouts hard to judge.

Regional performance: tea softer, nuts and arable improving

India – weather hit volumes, mixed pricing, portfolio tidying

• Tea output down 7% due to dry, hot weather; weighted average pricing slightly lower.
• Packet tea volumes fell 13% but pricing rose 13% as the focus shifts to higher-margin lines.
• One Dooars tea garden sold in H1 for £1.6 million; another completed in July at £2.2 million.
• Trials in garlic, turmeric, ginger and livestock underway, plus more mechanical plucking and tea tourism investment.

Bangladesh – poor yields but pricing support

• Production down 26% after a very dry winter and start to the season, though rains in Q2 helped.
• Carry-over stock of 4.7 million kg from 2024 fully sold, boosting sales mix.
• Minimum tea price set at 245 Taka/kg – up 53% year on year. Average pricing to date up 31%, but revenues still below cost due to weak yields.

Eastern Produce Kenya – volumes and prices under pressure

• Production down 23% on H1 2024 as drier weather returned; market remains oversupplied.
• Prices slipped 1% and Kenyan tea stocks continue to build. Efficiency actions ongoing, including solar at Chemomi.

Kakuzi (Kenya) – avocado pricing mixed, macadamias stronger

• Early Pinkerton avocado prices up 60% on last year; Hass down 36% due to Peruvian oversupply, but expected to improve as their season tails off.
• Successful trial shipments via the Red Sea could reduce logistics costs and improve arrival quality.
• Macadamia volumes up 41% and pricing up 53% – a clear bright spot.

Malawi – tea soft, macadamias and new fertiliser stream help

• Tea pricing down 5% on export market oversupply.
• Macadamia production up 61% and pricing up 33%.
• A 40% minimum wage increase from 1 June is a material cost headwind. New fertiliser supply business has helped trading and cash flow.

Tanzania – building an avocado growth engine

• Another 92Ha planted, taking avocado orchards to 448Ha of a planned 650Ha. Main dam construction progressing.
• First cropping season expected to start at the end of Q3.

South Africa – frost-hit crop but much better pricing

• Macadamia production down 29% due to frost during flowering in 2024, but market prices up 77% year on year.
• Cost base reduced via management restructure and regional office closure.

Brazil – stronger harvests and irrigation investment

• Soya production up 27% with improved conditions; five new pivots covering 200Ha installed and dam renovations ongoing.
• New 200Ha potato partnership launched; 233Ha repurposed from forestry to arable – 722Ha since 2020.

Other businesses

• Jing revenue up 13%, loss narrowed to £0.5 million.
• AJT revenue up 22% with £1.4 million profit; plans a new horizontal borer investment.
• Active sale process continues for the South African vineyard.

2025 production and price ranges: where guidance points

Management has outlined indicative ranges, not hard guidance, given weather and market sensitivity:

• India tea – full-year production 25.5-27.0 million kg; average price 210-240 INR/kg (vs 264 in 2024). That’s a cautious price range.
• Bangladesh tea – production 13.75-14.5 million kg; price 190-220 BDT/kg (above 2024’s 176), helped by the minimum price.
• EP Kenya tea – production 14.1-14.7 million kg (down on 2024); price 1.76-1.84 USD/kg – still tight.
• Malawi tea – production 17.1-19.1 million kg; price 1.10-1.20 USD/kg – subdued.
• Macadamias – Malawi 528 tonnes with pricing 11.00-11.30 USD/kg; South Africa 440-460 tonnes at 11.50-12.00 USD/kg. This is the standout recovery area.
• Brazil – soya 17,621 tonnes at c.2,124 BRL/tonne; maize 16,946 tonnes with a 1,000-1,300 BRL/tonne price range.
• Kakuzi – no forward guidance as it is a listed entity.

Balance sheet, FX and capital returns

Cash and liquid assets of £81.7 million give Camellia flexibility to invest and to keep pruning the portfolio. Net assets are £312.4 million, lower year on year due to shareholder distributions, losses in the period and translation impacts on overseas subsidiaries.

The company booked a £3.4 million exchange loss on US dollar treasury deposits as the dollar weakened. Management still prefers to hold US dollars given investment opportunities are largely USD-linked – logical, if a little bumpy quarter to quarter.

My take: cautious optimism with clear levers for improvement

Positives: cash is strong, asset sales are happening, nuts and arable look healthier, and the VEP gives a sensible framework to lift returns and reduce risk. The shift to a single annual dividend is prudent. If macadamia pricing holds and Brazilian volumes land as indicated, second-half momentum should build.

Negatives: tea remains tough – Kenya oversupply, Indian weather, and Bangladesh’s yield drag. Malawi’s 40% minimum wage rise is a sizeable margin headwind. FX can swing results, as shown by the US dollar loss.

Overall, the strategy is moving the right way, but execution through H2 – harvests, pricing, and further disposals – will be the proof. For investors, watch three things: Kenyan tea pricing and volumes, macadamia price strength into the peak selling period, and the pace of portfolio disposals versus reinvestment.