This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 24, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: PPB Group Bhd’s net profit came in at RM381.97 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 (3QFY17), almost the same as 3QFY16’s RM381.45 million, despite recording a higher revenue.

Earnings per share stood at 32.22 sen in 3QFY17 compared with 32.18 sen in 3QFY16.

Quarterly revenue rose 9.7% to RM1.08 billion from RM983.73 million a year ago, thanks to improved performance in all business segments.

For the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2017 (9MFY17), PPB posted a 51.1% increase in net profit to RM829.52 million from RM548.97 million a year ago, mainly due to a significant increase in contribution from Wilmar International Ltd, which recorded a net profit of US$792 million (RM3.26 billion) in 9MFY17 compared with US$411 million in 9MFY16.

Revenue was almost flat at RM3.17 billion from RM3.16 billion in 9MFY16.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, PPB said while it saw a higher revenue from the grains and agribusiness and consumer products segments, this was partially offset by lower revenue from other business segments.

On prospects, PPB said domestic demand is expected to remain as the key source of growth, supported by a continued expansion in both private-sector expenditure and public-sector spending.