Bumitama : P8Z 0%Agri : P8Z 0% on Tuesday (May 14) posted a 23.5 per cent drop in net profit to 328.4 billion rupiah (S$27.6 million) for the first quarter ended Mar 31, 2024, from 429.1 billion rupiah in the same period last year.
The group attributed the fall in profit to the strengthening US dollar, especially against the Indonesian rupiah, amid a higher-for-longer interest rate environment.
Excluding foreign exchange (forex) losses in the quarter, net profit would have been 22.8 per cent higher at 373.7 billion rupiah, versus 304.2 billion rupiah in the same period a year earlier, where the group recorded forex gains.
Q1 was also a “low cycle” period for palm oil production amid extreme weather conditions, the group said in its business update.
This resulted in a considerably tight supply situation earlier in the year when it coincided with increased domestic demand during Ramadan, driving palm oil prices to a peak of 13,400 rupiah per kilogram at the start of April.
Revenue was up 7.7 per cent at 3.87 trillion rupiah from 3.6 trillion rupiah on higher crude palm oil (CPO) sales. CPO, which registered a 7 per cent year-on-year rise in sales volume, accounted for 91 per cent of total sales. This more than offset the 1 per cent decline in average selling prices.
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Palm kernel sales, meanwhile, jumped 19 per cent year on year on strong sales volumes, which rose 18 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier.
Average selling prices for palm kernel products inched up 1 per cent during the quarter.
“While the 1 per cent year-on-year rise in (palm kernel) price looks negligible, it is worth noting that the lauric oil market has started to rebound in early 2024 due to improving supply-demand dynamics,” the group said.
Shares of Bumitama Agri closed 1.5 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$0.685 on Tuesday.
