Golden Agri in the red in Q4, to pay lower dividend

GOLDEN Agri-Resources on Friday reported a net loss of US$21.93 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, compared to a net profit of US$123 million a year ago.

This translates to losses per share of 0.17 US cent, compared to earnings per share of 0.96 US cent a year ago.

The palm oil plantation company's revenue also slipped 4.2 per cent to US$1.82 billion.

For the full year, net profit fell 63.5 per cent to US$113.6 million, despite a 15.7 per cent increase in revenue to US$7.62 billion.

Net profit was affected by its palm and laurics segment, which suffered lower refining margins and faced start-up costs for the group's new facilities and expansion in destination markets.

Looking ahead, the group expects its operating performance to be affected by fluctuating commodity prices, sustainability of the global economy, climatic conditions, as well as developments in Indonesia and China.

"We will focus on improving our yield and cost efficiency, as well as optimising our downstream value chain by broadening our product portfolio with higher value-added products and capitalising on our distribution and logistics capabilities to reach out to more destination markets.

"The operating environment in China is expected to remain challenging in the near to medium term. We are reviewing our business strategy for our oilseed business in order to improve its operating performances."

The company proposed a final dividend of 0.177 Singapore cent per share, plus an interim dividend of 0.408 Singapore cent per share. This adds up to 0.585 Singapore cents per share for FY14, compared to a payout of 1.10 Singapore cents in FY13.