BUMITAMA Agri posted a 27.9 per cent drop in net profit to 856.8 billion rupiah (S$71.6 million) for the first-half ended Jun 30, from 1.2 tillion rupiah in the previous corresponding period.
This translates to an earnings per share of 494 rupiah for H1 FY2024, down from 686 rupiah previously.
An interim dividend of S$0.012 per share was declared for the period, down from S$0.0125 in the previous year. It will be paid out to shareholders on Sep 18.
On Wednesday (Aug 14), the group attributed the decline in net profit to foreign exchange losses and an increase in the average purchase price of external fresh fruit bunch (FFB).
The group reported a 64.6 billion rupiah foreign exchange loss for H1, as opposed to a gain of 174.3 billion rupiah the year before. This was mainly due to translation loss from US dollar-denominated borrowings after the rupiah depreciated against the US dollar during the period.
Revenue for the half year rose 1.4 per cent on the year to 7.6 trillion rupiah from 7.5 trillion rupiah, due to increases in average selling prices of palm products, especially palm kernel (PK).
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The average selling price of PK rose 10.6 per cent to 6,201 rupiah per kg, while that of crude palm oil (CPO) grew 1.7 per cent to 11,921 rupiah per kg.
PK sales volume was up 3.7 per cent to 113,421 tonnes, while CPO sales volume declined 1.5 per cent to 578,529 tonnes.
The decline in CPO sales, along with a fall in fuel prices, led to a decrease in selling expenses by 7.4 per cent to 163.3 billion rupiah, comprising freight and loading expenses.
Cost of sales rose by 8.6 per cent to 5.8 trillion rupiah, mainly due to the rise in average purchase price of FFB.
The group pointed out that the increase in average purchase price was caused by a higher CPO market price and intensified competition for external FFB, driven by the emergence of new palm oil mills.
General and administrative expenses fell 7.6 per cent to 317.5 billion rupiah on reduced pension fund payments and lower performance bonuses.
Shares of Bumitama Agri closed 2.1 per cent or S$0.015 higher at S$0.72 on Tuesday.
