KUALA LUMPUR (May 23): Jaya Tiasa Holdings Bhd sank deeper into the red with a net loss of RM125.31 million for its third quarter ended March 31, 2019 (3QFY19), almost 2.6 times more than the RM48.57 million net loss it posted a year ago in 3QFY18.

This resulted in a loss per share of 12.95 sen compared with 5.02 sen previously, and brought the group’s year-to-date net loss to RM184.5 million, six times more than the RM30.77 million net loss it incurred in the same period last year.

In a stock exchange filing, Jaya Tiasa said the higher losses were due to lower profit margin from the low selling prices of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) and crude palm oil (CPO), and the higher unit cost of log production as a result of lower log production volume.

Revenue for the quarter under review fell 27.8% to RM115.7 million, from RM160.2 million in 3QFY18. This brings Jaya Tiasa’s cumulative revenue to RM503.64 million down 23.7% from RM660.02 million in 9MFY18.

It saw a decline in revenue for its palm oil division due to a 20% and 43% decrease in selling prices of CPO and palm kernel (PK) respectively, despite increase in sales volume for both products.

Over at its timber division, the decrease in sales volume of log and plywood by 59% and 32% respectively led to lower revenue, said Jaya Tiasa.

Nevertheless, Jaya Tiasa said its board believes the performance for the next quarter will improve with stringent control on cost and operational efficiency.

“As we are entering the high crop seasons coupled with anticipated increase in demand for CPO during the Ramadan festival, the FFB production volume and CPO price are expected to stabilise.

“We anticipate the higher FFB production volume in the coming quarter to contribute to improvement in the unit production cost of FFB and CPO,” it added.

Shares in Jaya Tiasa closed 2.5 sen or 4.67% lower today at 51 sen, for a market capitalisation of RM493.68 million.