PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk (AALI) has set a dividend of Rp375 billion for the 2020 financial year or the equivalent of Rp195 per share.

The dividend is around 45% of last year's net profit. The company's dividends have passed the approval of the annual general meeting of shareholders (AGMS) on Wednesday (14/4).

The dividend value of Rp195 per share has taken into account the interim dividend of Rp42 per share, which the company previously distributed on 19 October 2020.

President Director of Astra Agro Lestari Santosa said that the prospect of the crude palm oil (CPO) business this year is expected to be driven by price increases due to economic recovery, both domestically and globally. On the other hand, business actors cannot fully enjoy the strengthening of prices.

"The price increase that has occurred since the end of last year has also been accompanied by progressive export-fees. But hopefully, this will be the contribution of the CPO industry to the government, "he said in Jakarta, Thursday (15/4).

The company, according to Santosa, is still implementing a cost control strategy because the pandemic is still ongoing today. This is reflected in the company's capital expenditure (Capex), which reaches Rp1.2 trillion for 2021 or not much different from last year's realization of Rp999 billion.

"Astra Agro's largest Capex allocation is for replanting and maintenance of immature plants. This is in line with the company's focus every year on replanting 2.5% of the existing plantation area. If we use new superior seeds, we hope that the productivity per hectare will be higher," he explained.

This year, the company is preparing to release three new superior seed varieties to increase plant productivity. The three superior seeds were the company's results and development team in the last ten years and marked new milestones.

The company hopes that these superior seeds will have resistance to weather conditions in each of the company's plantation areas, namely Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Kalimantan.