Company name: Golden Agri Resources (GAR)
Registration location: Singapore
Ownership/ ultimate beneficial owner: Sinar Mas has a large stake. According to Bloomberg, Flambo International Ltd has a 45% stake and Silchester International Investors LLP 12%. Smaller investors include BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, Dimensional, Kopernik.
Stock exchange listing: Singapore Stock Exchange (the group) and Indonesia Stock Exchange for PT SMART Tbk (one of its subsidiaries)
Sectors: Grower, refiner, trader, consumer goods producer
Subsidiaries
PT Ivo Mas Tunggal, Oil palm plantation and refinery
PT Sawit Mas Sejahtera, Oil palm plantation and refinery
PT Sinar Kencana Inti Perkasa, Oil palm plantation
PT Binasawit Abadipratama, Oil palm plantation
Golden Agri International, Merchandising
Gemini Edibles & Fats India, Refinery and marketing
Florentina International, Manufacturing and marketing of food products
Shinning Gold, Oilseed crushing and refinery
Ningbo Port, Deep sea oil and grain port
PT Sinarmas Cakrawala Persada, Consumer products
Brands
Mitra
Kunci Mas
Palmvita
Palmboom
Palmboom Cake
Filma Prestige
Filma Danish Pastry
Menara
Menara Cream
Mitra
Smart Baker
Palmvita
Filma Puff Pastry
Filma Baker’s Cream Fat
Filma Butter Oil Substitute
Filma Biscuit Fat
Filma Goodfry Deep Frying Fat Filma GoodFry Semi Liquid Frying Oil
Palmvita Deep Frying Fat
Palmvita White Fat
Palmvita Baker’s Fat
Palmvita Butter Oil Substitute Menara
Menara Baker’s Fat Red Rose
Filma Pusaka White Baker’s Fat i-Soc CBS
i-Soc PCF
i-Soc CF
Delicio Coating Fat
Delicio Toffee Fat
Sinar-FAPK
Sinar-FA 0899
Sinar-FA 0810
Sinar-FA 1270
Sinar-FA 1299
Sinar-FA 1499
Sinar-FA 1698
Sinar-FA 1865
Sinar-FA 1895
Sinar-FAH
Sinar-FAB
Sinar-FAG
Sinar-FAS
Sinar-FAK
Sinar-FAT
Sinar-FAQ
Sinar-FAR
Sinar-FAR40
Sinar-GLUSP
Sinar-GLPG
Sinar-GLBP
Sinar-SN9010
Sinar-SN8020
Sinar-SN7525
Sinar-SN7030
Sinar-SN6040
DAMI MAS Deli Dura
DAMI MAS Pisifera
Seagull
Golden Seagull
Golden Carrier
Grand Slam
Red Rose Flagship
Better life
Master Chef
Flaghsip
Sustainability performance
No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation policy: Yes
Deforestation within owned concessions (2016-2020): 0 ha
Peat clearance within owned concessions (2016-2020): 24 ha
Peat forest clearance within owned concessions (2016-2020): 0 ha
Deforestation within current supply chain: 5,800 ha
Peat clearance within current supply chain: 960 ha
Peat forest clearance within current supply chain: 1,750 ha
Social issues:
- In 2012, a farmer was shot and arrested due to land conflict between PT SMART in North Labuhan Batu Regency, North Sumatra and farmers in the nearby village.
- In 2011, a farmer was also shot due to land conflict between PT Kresna Duta Agrindo and plasma farmer.
- In 2018, approximately 60 of PT Agro Lestari Madiri (PT ALM) day-rate laborers went to the Ketapang District Legislative Assembly (DPRD) office to complain of unsuitable severance pay and not registering workers as members of the government national health and social security programs. In follow up to the incident, stakeholder mediation was eventually held in the Ketapang District Manpower and Transmigration office. During the mediation meeting the company denied all of the workers’ accusations.
- In 2019, a number of villagers from Sei Kelik together with the Ketapang Peoples Defenders Front (FPRK) community organization sealed off the PT ALM plantation. The action was triggered by the company allegedly planting oil palm outside the boundaries of its HGU concession area.
- In 2015, PT Agro Lestari Sentosa (PT ALS) was accused of unilaterally laying off 97 of its workers who originated from East Nusa Tenggara province. They were fired when striking over late payment of wages.
- In 2018, a crowd of hundreds of residents from twelve villages in Kelapa and Simpang Teritip subdistricts staged a demonstration at the PT Bumi Permai Lestari (PT BPL) office, demanded for: realization of 20 percent of the concession as plasma smallholder estate; remeasurement of the concession area; provision of CSR funds; and prioritization of local people when recruiting workers.
- In 2017, the ethnic Sakai demanded PT Ivo Mas Tunggal return the communal land it had planted on. As the parties failed to reach an agreement by the end of the mediation, the case was handled by Commission I of the Riau Provincial Legislative Assembly (DPRD), which found the communal land planted by PT IMT to be inside an HGU concession belonging to another company; PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (PT CPI).
Certification: ISPO, RSPO, ISCC
Supply chain links: Traceability report
Supplementary information
A recent report from Aidenvironment about deforestation in the pulp and paper sector in Indonesia put Sinar Mas in spotlight. The data demonstrated that Sinar Mas has cleared 800 ha of forest within its industrial plantation concessions in 2020. APP has its own sustainability issue, which reached a peak of attention when FSC decided to cut ties with APP in 2007. The issue with APP has a long way back to 90s when NGO started to criticize APP’s deforestation.
In 2019, GAR was excluded from Dow Jones Sustainability Index due to its involvement in a bribe and corruption scandal. Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission arrested some of the directors of PT Binasawit Abadi Pratama due to this scandal.
GAR is the focus of a current RSPO complaint, submitted in March 2020 by Forest Peoples Programme and Elk Hills Research. The complainants claim GAR “through its subsidiaries located in Central Kalimantan, operate its plantations with permits which never had the force of law; and…through its employees have been involved in the payment of bribes to provincial officials in Central Kalimantan.” Few documents relating to the complaint are available on the RSPO website, but as of February 2021, a legal review of the case was being planned.
Financial information (in USD million) | 2019 | 2020 | YoY growth |
Annual revenue | 6,432 | 7,078 | +10% |
Gross profit | 832 | 1,150 | +38% |
EBITDA | 448 | 635 | +42% |
Net profit | 9 | 41 | +356% |
Market cap ultimo preceding year | 2,226 | 1,527 | -31% |
Enterprise value ultimo preceding year | 4,736 | 4,764 | -21% |