KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 25): Kulim (Malaysia) Bhd saw its net profit surge 4.9 times to RM86.89 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2015 (3QFY15) from RM17.68 million in the same quarter last year, largely due to foreign exchange (forex) gains and revenue improvement.

The group recorded an unrealised forex gain of RM48.82 million and realised foreign exchange gain of RM9.11 million during the quarter, its filing on Bursa Malaysia today showed.

Revenue for 3QFY15, meanwhile, was up 54% to RM406.97 million from RM263.59 million in 3QFY14.

For the cumulative nine months (9MFY15), its net profit came in at RM1.45 billion, 9.4 times higher from the RM154.25 million recorded in the same period last year, as revenue rose 46% to RM1.19 billion from RM811.53 million previously.

Kulim said its plantation operation's pre-tax profit dropped 40% to RM70.43 million for the cumulative period, despite a 15% improvement in revenue to RM685.82 million, mainly due to lower crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel prices.

Meanwhile, profit from its oil and gas support services division spiked 128% to RM26.1 million, on the back of a 204% surge in revenue.

"The significant increase in revenue and PBT (profit before tax) are mainly contributed by EA Technique (M) Bhd due to recognition of revenue from [an] engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning project, which was secured at the end of last year, and the floating storage offloading [unit] Nautica Tembikai, which was delivered to an oil field in July 2015," it said.

Going forward, the group said its performance for the remaining of FY15 will be influenced by CPO prices and crop production trends, adding that its plantation division will continue to improve productivity and cost efficiency to offset the weakening in commodity prices.

For its oil and gas support services segment, it expects encouraging results from EA Technique, mainly due to a new contract valued at US$191.80 million (RM808.52 million).

"Despite the challenges in the current financial year, the board expects the group's performance for the remaining quarter to be satisfactory," said Kulim.

Shares in Kulim closed unchanged at RM3.90, with a market capitalisation of RM4.76 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.)