KUALA LUMPUR (May 22): Sime Darby Bhd fell as much as 3% after the group reported a drop in third net profit and revenue, compared with a year earlier.

Sime Darby's (fundamental: 1; valuation: 1.1) shares fell to its lowest so far today at RM8.65 at 4:17pm. The third-largest decliner across Bursa Malaysia saw some seven million shares traded.

Sime Darby's share price fell after the group announced today that its net profit declined 55% to RM386.04 million in the third quarter ended March 31, 2015, from RM852.53 million, due to lower contribution from its plantation, industrial and automobile divisions.

Revenue declined as well to RM10 billion, from RM10.1 billion.

Sime Darby's president and group chief executive Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh said: "The third quarter of the current financial year continued to be negatively impacted by tough business conditions, amidst macroeconomic headwinds in several regions."

"The weak markets persisted as commodity prices continued to remain soft, weighing on the overall earnings of the group. Against this backdrop, the group has implemented strict controls on capital expenditure and cost containment measures, while focusing on enhancing operational efficiencies," Mohd Bakke said in a statement today.

On prospects, Sime Darby said crude oil and commodity prices remained weak and volatile foreign exchange rates had resulted in a much tougher operating condition in markets where the group operated.

"In view of the difficult business environment, the board expects the group's performance for the financial year ending June 30, 2015, to be lower than that of the previous financial year. The group will also not meet the target Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) announced in November 2014," it said.

(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.)