PETALING JAYA: Boustead Plantations Bhd returned to profitability with a net profit of RM79.23 million reported for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 against a net loss of RM22.24 million in the corresponding period of last year, on the back of a gain on disposal of plantation land amounting to RM120 million.
Its revenue, however, declined 12.6% to RM123.95 million from RM141.75 million, due to the decline in prices of palm oil products, partly cushioned by better crop production.
For the first half of the year, the group reported a net profit of RM63.03 million against a net loss of RM16.98 million recorded for the same period of the previous year.
Its six-month revenue contracted 12.7% to RM258.86 million from RM296.36 million.
Boustead Plantations told Bursa Malaysia that for the first half of the year, the group realised an average selling crude palm oil (CPO) price of RM2,003 per metric tonne (mt), an 18% decline from RM2,457 per mt reported for the same period of the previous year.
Average palm kernel price fell 40% to RM1,202 per mt from RM2,001 per mt previously.
Its fresh fruit bunches production for the six-month period of 488,198 mt was 13% higher than first half 2018’s production of 431,349 mt. The oil extraction rate increased from 20.7% to 21.4%.
Moving forward, Boustead Plantations expects CPO prices to hover in the current range.
“Nevertheless, there could be a potential price recovery towards year-end amidst uncertainties arising from the ongoing trade war between the US and China, which would bode well for the group,” it said.
