Bumitama 9M net profit jumps 48.8% on higher palm oil prices

Published Tue, Nov 10, 2020 · 01:29 AM

BUMITAMA Agri Ltd has announced higher revenue and net profit for the first nine months of its 2020 fiscal year from a year ago, on higher prices of palm oil.

In a business update on Tuesday, the Indonesian palm oil producer said net profit attributable to owners of the company rose 48.8 per cent to 632.14 billion rupiah (S$59.6 million) for the nine-month period ended Sept 30, from 424.86 billion rupiah for the same period in 2019.

Revenue rose 12.6 per cent to 6.08 trillion rupiah for the first nine months, from 5.40 trillion rupiah in the year-ago period.

Bumitama said the group's financial performance for the first nine months of 2020 strengthened due to increased palm oil prices compared to the previous corresponding period.

Sales revenue in both crude palm oil and palm kernel had increased during the year, despite lower sales volume. Revenue for its crude palm oil business grew 13.3 per cent to 5.48 trillion rupiah, even as sales volume fell 9.8 per cent year on year to 670,000 metric tonnes.

Average sales price of crude palm oil rose 25.6 per cent year on year to 8,184 rupiah per kilogramme.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

VIEW ALL

Bumitama said its overall operational performance for the first nine months of 2020 was impacted by the lagged effects of El Nino in 2019. Fresh fruit bunches yield decreased 7.7 per cent year on year due to the negative impact of extreme weather on palm trees.

The group added that Kalimantan experienced La Nina starting August this year, which brought about heavy rainfall and flooding in parts of Kalimantan. It said its operations had not been affected by the floods.

Bumitama also said all its estates and mills have remained in full operation since the start of the large-scale social restrictions in Indonesia in March this year.

Bumitama shares were trading at 50.5 Singapore cents as at 9.11am on Tuesday, down one cent or 1.9 per cent.