Wilmar's Q3 profit rises 1.5% to US$422.4m

DESPITE a dip in revenue, third-quarter net profit for Wilmar International rose 1.5 per cent to US$422.4 million, boosted by other operating income and results from associates.

This translated to earnings per share of 6.6 US cents, up from 6.5 US cents a year ago.

Revenue for the three months ended Sept 30, 2014, slid 2.7 per cent to US$11.5 billion.

Thanks to foreign-exchange gains, net operating income had increased to US$106.5 million, up from US$44.8 million a year ago. Wilmar's share of results from associates also multiplied four times to US$32.7 million, mainly due to higher contributions from China.

Excluding non-operating items, net profit had grown 9.9 per cent to US$429.7 million, said Wilmar.

This was spurred by a continued recovery in its oilseeds and grains unit. Its consumer products, plantations and palm oil mills as well as sugar also notched up higher pre-tax profits.

The stellar performance was, however, dragged lower by a 49 per cent fall in the pre-tax profit for the palm and laurics business.

Refining margins continued to contract amid excess capacity in Indonesia, said Wilmar, with the situation likely to persist into the next quarter.

Wilmar's shares gained one cent to close at S$3.20 on Tuesday, before the release of its results.