M.P. Evans Group PLC ('M.P. Evans' or 'The Group')
Board changes
The board announces that, on 31 July 2021, Tristan Price will be leaving M.P. Evans after fifteen years of service to the Group.
Pending the appointment of a new chief executive, Peter Hadsley-Chaplin will, as part of his function as executive chairman, assume the responsibilities previously managed by Tristan. K Chandra Sekaran, who is president director (“PD”) of P.T. Evans Indonesia (“P.T. Evans”), will join the board as an executive director.
Tristan joined the Group as chief financial officer in 2006, before being promoted to finance director in 2010 and chief executive in 2016. He has played a key role in helping the Group to implement its strategy, formed in 2005, of selling its Malaysian estates, and subsequently its Australian beef-cattle investments, in order to focus on the significant, and successful, expansion of its sustainable Indonesian palm-oil interests. In 2020 its revenue had risen to US$175 million with continuing earnings per share at near record levels and rising. Amongst his very many achievements, Tristan led the development of the Group's policies on corporate governance and, notably, sustainability. The board would like to thank Tristan for his valuable contribution to the Group and wishes him well in the future as he pursues new interests on the next stage of his career.
The board is pleased to announce that K Chandra Sekaran will join the board on 1 August 2021 as an executive director. Chandra joined the Group in 2008 as PD of its Indonesian subsidiary, P.T.Evans, after having worked for the Golden Hope Group in Malaysia and Sinar Mas in Indonesia. He is one of the most respected people in the industry and has been responsible for the on-the-ground success of the Group's sustainable Indonesian palm-oil expansion. He will remain as PD in addition to his new executive role. He will liaise closely with his executive colleagues in the UK, Peter Hadsley-Chaplin and Matthew Coulson, finance director, as well as with Ravichandran Krisnapillay (Ravi), director of operations at P.T.Evans, and other senior colleagues in Indonesia.
The board remains committed to its strategy of owning, operating and, where possible, expanding its high-quality, sustainable Indonesian palm-oil interests. In the light of the young age profile of its oil palms, it is confident of delivering continued growth, and enhanced earnings and dividends, helped, this year, by the continuing strength of the palm-oil price.
This announcement includes inside information as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014.
Peter Hadsley-Chaplin, executive chairman of M.P. Evans, said:
“ Tristan has played a central role in delivering the Group's strategy over the last fifteen years and should be rightly proud of all he has achieved. He leaves the Company in a position of excellent financial health, and we greatly appreciate his formidable work on the Group's approach to sustainability, a subject close to his heart. We wish him all the best with his future plans. We are, at the same time, delighted to be welcoming Chandra to the board, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and experience of the plantation industry.