Starting with the executive summary, you can see here that Golden Agri-Resources had a robust first half 2026, underpinned by our integrated business model, with revenue increasing by 7% to $6.6 billion, which is a first half record high due to stronger market prices and volume expansion. EBITDA was slightly softer by 2% to $556 million, but this while upstream and downstream margins remained healthy. Net profit increased by 4% to $167 million, and this was primarily due to the lower cost of funds. If we look at the segmental EBITDA graph on the right-hand side, you can see almost equal performance compared to first half 2025 for the downstream, while upstream was slightly weaker. Here we have the financial highlights. We saw strong quarter-on-quarter performance, which contributed to a robust first half 2026.
You can see revenue quarter-on-quarter increasing by 4%, EBITDA by 30%, and net profit by as much as 180% to $44 million for the quarter. Half-on half, we saw revenue increase by 7%, as mentioned, EBITDA 2% lower, and net profit 4% higher to $167 million. The strong quarterly results were due to volume expansion and higher margins, while the first half was impacted by higher selling expenses and administrative charges, which were partly offset by lower costs of funds and foreign exchange gain. We come to the segmental results, starting with the upstream. We saw higher palm product yield and stable EBITDA margin in the first half of 2026. The palm product output was almost flat at 1.32 million metric tons, and that was because the higher oil extraction rate was able to mitigate the lower FFB production that we experienced.
EBITDA down by 3% to $309 million, which was impacted by lower palm product output as well as administrative charges. So then, we come to the slide about our plantations. We can see here that we continue to secure future growth through the replanting and innovation. The mature area as well as the planted area were fairly stable year-on-year. The replanting during the first half of 2026 reached 7,600 hectares. The majority of nucleus plantation areas in the prime age segment, with an average age of 15 years, and 17 years if we include the plasma. If you look at the pie chart on the right, you can see that 18% of our trees are in their immature and young age segment, where our growth for the coming years will come from as these trees mature.
The majority of our trees, as mentioned, a total of 67%, is in their prime producing years. Then we have 15% of old trees above 25 years that we are actively replanting. We come to our downstream. We saw a resilient first half 2026 amidst the challenge. $6.5 billion. Sales volume increased by 2%, and EBITDA was able to increase by 0.3% to $247 million, while the EBITDA margin slightly declined to 3.8%. The margin pressure, of course, came from the unfavorable market environments, given all the geopolitical turbulence that we are experiencing. We come to the balance sheet, which remains strong, of course, underpinned by the prudent financial management. Total assets increased by 7%. Interest-bearing debt increased by 8%, and net debt increased by 60%. This increase was due to the higher working capital requirements as we saw the continued increase in palm product prices.
As a result, our equity 0.61 x, net debt over EBITDA 0.37 x, and EBITDA over interest strengthened to 6.13 x due to lower cost of funding. This slide about our sustainability efforts will be presented by Anita .
Thank you, Richard. Continuing our reporting against Collective for Impact, our sustainability framework launched last year. Looking at sourcing responsibly, we have continued to prepare for the expected implementation of the E.U. Deforestation Regulation, or EUDR, across both our own mills and third-party partners, helping to reinforce our position of readiness to serve the European market. More than 50% of GAR-owned milling capacity has already achieved what we consider EUDR-ready status, alongside several EUDR-ready third-party mills. In addition, we have continued our investment in supporting smallholder productivity and sustainability, training more than 13,000 independent smallholders and supporting 2,000 of them in obtaining land permits, which is a prerequisite for both ISPO and RSPO certification, and also important from an EUDR perspective.
Turning our attention to the issue of climate change, we have expanded our methane capture infrastructure to further reduce carbon emissions as part of our decarbonization roadmap, and we have been installing additional solar photovoltaic capacity in our refineries, increasing our share of renewable energy for 2026. Looking at people now, we have partnered with over 200 villages to deliver 470 community development projects, benefiting more than 220 micro-SMEs in rural communities. We are also focusing on the future of youth in rural communities. More than 3,000 have gone through skills training, mentorship, and entrepreneurship programs with our teams, looking at how we can support the next generation of farmers and rural entrepreneurs. Thank you.
Thank you, Anita. We come to our final slide about the business strategy and outlook. Golden Agri-Resources' strategic focus continues to be fortifying our position as an innovative and leading integrated agribusiness and food player with a superior at-scale upstream and resilient value-adding downstream business. The strategic priorities, first of all, yield intensification through high-quality replanting, superior planting materials, mechanization, and agri-science innovation. Number two, value add enhancements, extensive and quality product portfolio, cutting-edge processing facilities, advanced fat and oil laboratories, full-service global distribution, as well as waste and byproduct valorization. Finally, focus on cost efficiency through precision agriculture, operational excellence, digitization and automation, and efficient shipping management. This is underpinned by the business enablers being organization and human capital, science and technological innovation, and ESG as part of our DNA.
In the current uncertain global situation, we continue to closely monitor market developments and manage supply chains effectively to mitigate input cost volatility and ensure business resilience. Regarding the industry fundamentals, industry outlook, the fundamentals remain robust in our opinion. In the short term, we see edible oil supply and demand position to continue to be tight, driven by growing biofuel mandates across the world, and the potential yield impact from El Niño. In the medium term, the palm oil outlook remains favorable as well, despite continued volatility. The supply growth is likely to be subdued as aging plantations drive replanting, while demand will be supported by biodiesel and staple food consumption. That concludes this brief presentation.