28/04/2011 (Investors Chronicle) - These impressive figures from palm and rubber plantations group Anglo-Eastern Plantations largely reflect a soaring crude palm oil (CPO) price - the CPO price rose 53 per cent in 2010 to end the year at $1,195 (£726) per metric tonne. Earnings also received an $18.4m boost from a revaluation of its biological assets - essentially the plantation estates.

But production figures were not so impressive and fresh fruit bunch (FFB) output from the core Indonesian operations fell 3 per cent to 258,000 metric tonnes. In north Sumatra, that largely reflected a lower yield from an older crop base, while in southern Sumatra - where FFB production dropped 10 per cent - operations were hit hard by extreme rainfall. Still, production increased 10 per cent in Indonesia's Riau region, and 6 per cent in Malaysia. And Anglo-Eastern's rubber operations grew pre-tax profit 72 per cent to $3.1m on the back of an average rubber price that jumped 83 per cent to $3,300 per metric tonne.

Moreover, management intends to expand and expects to increase its planted area from 52,000 hectares now to 92,000 hectares by 2014.