FGV Annual Report 2020

The Board made a strategic decision that FGV’s journey should be clearer and broader. by DATUK WIRA AZHAR ABDUL HAMID Chairman Targets were moved, expectations reconsidered and projections revised. We had to get our heads around the new normal of working from home, physical distancing, and a lot less human engagement. In spite of the external environment and its inevitable impacts, FGV Holdings Berhad could not afford to slow down or take a cautious approach. We had to show progress, to deliver on the commitments made back in 2018. I am pleased to report that despite a series of setbacks over the previous two years and the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the promised operational transformation is clearly starting to deliver results. Thankfully, in Malaysia, the Plantation and Commodities Sector is classified by the Government as an essential service, and thus, we continued operations with minimal disruptions during the Government’s Dear Stakeholders, 2020 was the year the covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across the world, forcing nations into lockdown and economies into retreat. Both at national and company levels, strategies and plans had to be shelved or redesigned. Movement Control Order (MCO) between March 2020 and May 2020. Our FGV COVID-19 Task Force monitored operations and ensured that the safety of our staff and workers was not compromised whatsoever. When the Government declared Lahad Datu a red zone in April, FGV took the precautionary step of shutting down five mills there for two weeks. These movement restrictions did affect the operational productivity of our Plantation, Logistics & Others and Sugar Businesses but they were the necessary and responsible actions we chose to take. We also experienced a decline in demand for our products because of a decline in domestic consumption, and from port closures and lockdowns in our main export markets. The bright spot was the uptrend in Crude Palm Oil (CPO) prices that broke the RM2,200 MT resistance after languishing around RM1,800- RM2,000 MT in 2018 and 2019. Chairman’s Statement 28 FGV HOLDINGS BERHAD Annual Integrated Report 2020