Disposals, higher palm prices boost Boustead Plantations earnings

PETALING JAYA: Boustead Plantations Bhd has recorded a net profit of RM50.3 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2016, from a net loss of RM975,000 in the previous corresponding quarter, mainly due to gains realised on disposal of lands in Kulaijaya, Johor, and disposal of Boustead Sedili Sdn Bhd, amounting to RM158 million.
In a statement yesterday, the group said the higher palm product prices also contributed to stronger profit.
Revenue was up 20.4% to RM196.65 million, compared with RM163.4 million in the same period last year.
For the full year, its net profit almost tripled to RM227.8 million, against RM78.61 million last year, while revenue rose 15% to RM707.87 million, from RM615.2 million previously.
“We are pleased with our performance in 2016. Not only did we successfully ride the wave of improved crude palm oil (CPO) prices, the disposal of lands most certainly contributed to our bottom line,” its vice chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin said.
Last year, the average selling price for CPO was RM2,584 per metric ton (MT), up by 20% from RM2,148 per MT in the previous year, while average palm kernel (PK) price saw a 60% increase to RM2,460 per MT, the group noted.
The board declared a fourth interim dividend of 3.5 sen per share, as part of its commitment to enhancing shareholder value.
The dividend will be paid on March 16, 2017 to shareholders on the register as at March 3, 2017, which will bring cumulative dividends to 14.5 sen per share.