Batu Kawan, KLK Post Higher 3Q Net Profit On Better CPO, PK Prices

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- Batu Kawan Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended June 30, 2024 (3Q) rose to RM131.03 million from RM82.80 million registered in the same quarter a year ago.

Revenue in the quarter jumped to RM5.68 billion compared with RM5.35 billion previously, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

The company attributed the higher revenue to the performance of its plantation segment, where the profit jumped three-fold to RM369.37 million mainly due to higher crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK) selling prices realised and sales volumes.

The higher profit was also contributed by lower CPO production costs and a lower fair value loss of RM2.21 million on the valuation of unharvested fresh fruit bunches, it added.

For the cumulative nine-month period (9M) ended June 30, 2024, the company’s net profit slid to RM327.49 million from RM438.16 million while revenue declined to RM17.17 billion from RM18.64 billion previously.

Meanwhile, Batu Kawan’s 47.74 per cent-owned associate, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) reported a net profit of RM240.18 million in 3Q from RM84.10 million in the same quarter a year ago due to higher contribution from the plantation sector.

Revenue improved to RM5.50 billion in 3Q from RM5.11 billion previously, underpinned by higher revenue in manufacturing and improved profit contribution from the oleochemical division, it said in a separate filing to the exchange.

However, for the 9M period, the group's net profit fell to RM584.19 million from RM717.95 million in the same period a year ago, while revenue decreased to RM16.59 billion compared to RM17.87 billion previously.

KLK said the plantation sector’s profit more than doubled to RM363.4 million in 3Q of its financial year ending Sept 30, 2024 (FY2024) versus RM125.9 million in 3Q FY2023, driven by better CPO and PK selling prices, higher sales volume as well as lower production costs.

The group noted that the CPO price has retreated quite substantially to about RM3,800 per tonne. However, it expects the solid plantation segment profit to continue to contribute substantially to its overall profit generation.

"The group’s plantation segment remains resilient and continues to be a significant contributor to overall performance. The recovery in the European operations will provide some impetus to profitability," KLK said.

Batu Kawan also expects the group's plantation segment to continue to contribute significantly to the group's profitability. However, it said the overall financial performance for FY2024 will continue to be affected by KLK's 26.89 per cent-owned associate company, Synthomer, which is reporting losses due to a difficult business environment faced by the chemical industry. 

-- BERNAMA