The Science Behind an Annual Report

How a year becomes a book

(for context, you may first view Wilmar's 2025 Annual Report  here)

Putting together an Annual Report is no small feat. Months of brainstorming, data compiling, drafting and designing culminate in a document that must withstand auditors and the scrutiny of regulators, shareholders, analysts, media and the public. There is, of course, no room within its pages for a meta-discussion of how it came to be. But the conception of it is interesting nonetheless – and that is a story worth telling.

Choosing a theme

At Wilmar, every Annual Report comes attached to a theme. With operations spanning 36 countries and regions across numerous industries, how do we decide what to talk about?

The answer is usually not a lack of material, but an excess of it. Each year brings more developments than any single report can fully capture. The theme therefore serves to impose order. It allows a sprawling organisation to present a coherent narrative rather than a collection of unrelated highlights.

As followers of Wilmar would know, 2025 was a challenging year, which is why the theme Overcoming Adversity was chosen.

A look to match

While facts and figures largely speak for themselves, designing a cover to match the theme is far more subjective. Some themes lend themselves naturally to imagery – Sugar, Food Parks, Palm Oil or India can be represented quite literally. More abstract themes, however, such as Overcoming Adversity, allow for many possible interpretations.

To visualise "overcoming adversity", the first thing that comes to the mind of most is an image of a mountain. So why did we choose a ship?

For a global trading and manufacturing business, adversity is rarely a single obstacle to be cleared once and for all. It is ongoing, unpredictable and often driven by forces beyond one’s control, such as shifting markets, regulatory changes and even weather. A vessel at sea captures this reality more convincingly than a triumphant summit shot. It conveys persistence rather than victory.

It is also an image that reflects the nature of our business, with products moving across oceans and routes constantly adjusted to changing conditions.

And, on a more practical note, we already used a mountain in 2013.

The full 2025 Annual Report can be read and downloaded here.