KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): Genting Plantations Bhd's net profit for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 (FY14) rose 43.66% to RM377.25 million from RM227.8 million a year ago, aided by lower unrealised foreign exchange losses on US dollar-denominated borrowings as well as improved contribution from its biodiesel operation.

This translated to an earnings per share (EPS) of 49.33 sen for FY14, versus an EPS of 30.02 sen in FY13, Genting Plantation (fundamental: 2.7; valuation:1.5) said in a statement

Revenue was up 18.71% to RM1.64 billion from RM1.38 billion, on the back of improvements across its plantation and property businesses, underpinned respectively by higher crop production and increased property sales.

In addition, higher biodiesel sales also contributed to the rise in revenue. The group’s fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production increased 9% in FY2014 from a year earlier.  

It has recommended a final single-tier dividend of 4 sen per share which brings total dividend to 7 sen per share for the quarter, inclusive of a special single-tier dividend of 3 sen per share payable on March 27, 2015.

For its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (4QFY14), net profit was up 31.05% to RM137.68 million or 18.14 sen/share, on a 42% surge in revenue to RM579.01 million arising from improved contributions from its Indonesian plantation and property division.

Looking ahead, the company expected its performance in 2015 to be influenced by the direction of palm product prices, crop production trends, demand for properties and input cost factors.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)