Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 26): Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) saw its third-quarter net loss widen more than three times to RM33.92 million or 0.9 sen loss per share from RM9.33 million or 0.3 sen loss per share a year ago, on lower contribution from its palm plantation and trading, marketing and logistics (TML) segments.

This was despite posting a higher revenue of RM4.51 billion for the three months ended Sept 30, 2015 (3QFY15), up 13.8% from RM3.96 billion in 3QFY14.

Nevertheless, the group declared an interim dividend of 2 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2015 (FY15), equivalent to a total dividend payout of RM72.96 million, payable on Dec 28.

The weaker 3QFY15 earnings dragged FGV's net profit down by 94.5% to RM15.74 million or 0.4 sen a share for the cumulative nine-month period (9MFY15) from RM286.16 million or 7.8 sen a share in 9MFY14.

Revenue for 9MFY15 was marginally higher at RM11.41 billion compared with RM11.34 billion in 9MFY14.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, FGV said the palm plantation segment's profit declined by 74.6% to RM123.93 million in 9MFY15 from RM488.18 million a year ago, mainly due to lower average crude palm oil (CPO) price realised of RM2,235 per tonne compared with RM2,506 per tonne in 9MFY14.

Its TML segment, meanwhile, reported a loss of RM79.85 million in 9MFY15, due to foreign exchange (forex) losses of RM73.64 million following the weakening of the ringgit against the US dollar.

On prospects, FGV said the environment remains challenging, with the slowdown in the Chinese economy, uncertain global financial markets and volatile forex rates.

However, it expects CPO prices to increase in the medium term, in anticipation of supply shortages due to the severe dry weather from the El Nino phenomenon and the Indonesian haze.

The strengthening of the US dollar will also support prices, the group added.

"The group will focus on improving margins by continuing to carry out transformation plans to improve efficiencies in the operational value chain from the upstream production down to the downstream operations and consumer goods production," said the group.

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the board is of the opinion that the group's performance for FY15 will be in line with the industry," it added.

FGV shares fell one sen or 0.54% to close at RM1.84 today, bringing its market capitalisation to RM6.71 billion.

(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.)

 

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