KUALA LUMPUR (June 26): Subur Tiasa Holdings Bhd saw its net profit fall 73.21% to RM2.7 million or 1.44 sen a share for the third financial quarter ended April 30, 2015 (3QFY15) from RM10.08 million or 5.54 sen a share a year ago, mainly due to lower export sales volume and losses in its oil palm plantation segment.

Its oil palm plantation segment recorded a pre-tax loss of RM450,000 in 3QFY15 compared with a pre-tax profit of RM1.74 million a year ago, mainly due to a 10% and 5% decrease in harvested fresh fruit bunch (FFB) average selling price and FFB volume.

Quarterly revenue also fell 23.35% to RM176.75 million from RM230.6 million in 3QFY14.

No dividend was declared for the current quarter under review.

For the nine-month period (9MFY15), Subur Tiasa (fundamental: 0.5; valuation: 2) saw its net profit declined 78.3% to RM5.96 million or 3.17 sen a share from RM27.44 million or 14.59 sen a year ago.

Revenue also slid 3.09% to RM622.98 million from RM642.86 million in 9MFY14.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Subur Tiasa said timber prices are expected to sustain in view of firm demand and prevailing tight log supply in the global market, coupled with a strong US dollar against the ringgit as export sales are predominantly in US dollar.

"However, Japan's market of import plywood is weak pertaining to lower housing starts in year 2015, the problem of abandoned house and depreciation of the yen," it added.

On its plantation segment, Subur Tiasa said the commencement of peak crop season will see increase in FFB production.

"However, the segment's contribution would largely be dependent on crude palm oil price which is correlated to the movement of world edible oil and related markets," it added.

Subur Tiasa's stock was not traded today. It last closed at RM1.69, giving it a market capitalisation of RM317.93 million.

(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.)