KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 25): Genting Plantations Bhd's net profit fell 45.6% to RM37.67 million or 4.88 sen a share for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2015 (3QFY15) from RM69.28 million or 9.1 sen a share a year ago, mainly due to softer selling prices of palm products and slower property sales.

Revenue for 3QFY15 dropped 13.5% to RM320.4 million from RM370.53 million in 3QFY14.

In a statement today, Genting Plantations said this reduction was partly cushioned by higher contribution from the plantation segment in Indonesia, where the impact of selling prices was more than compensated by higher production of fresh fruit bunches (FFB), as well as from the downstream manufacturing segment, which registered higher biodiesel sales.

For the nine-month period (9MFY15), Genting Plantations also saw its net profit drop 45.6% to RM130.35 million or 16.86 sen a share from RM239.57 million or 31.4 sen a share in 9MFY14.

Revenue for 9MFY15 fell 10.7% to RM950.53 million from RM1.06 billion a year ago.

FFB production in 9MFY15 rose 4% year-on-year, underpinned by a 33% improvement in Indonesia, which more than offset a 3% decline in Malaysia that was due mainly to a weather-induced yield reduction in the Sabah estates.

Genting Plantations said palm products selling prices remain pressured by the prevailing weakness in the oilseeds and crude oil markets, along with a build-up in Malaysian palm oil inventories.

It achieved a lower crude palm oil price of RM2,142 per tonne in 9MFY15 compared with RM2,472 per tonne in 9MFY14, while palm kernel prices averaged RM1,542 per tonne from RM1,791 per tonne in the previous year.

Genting Plantations said for the remaining period of the year, the direction of palm products selling prices, the crop production pattern and the cost of major inputs and materials, as well as overall economic and property market conditions will remain among the major factors influencing its performance.

Genting Plantations shares closed two sen or 0.19% lower at RM10.24 today, valuing it at RM7.98 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.)