Wilmar proposes S$0.05 dividend per share as H1 profit grows 23%

AGRIBUSINESS giant Wilmar International's net profit for the first half of this year increased 23 per cent to US$750.9 million, from US$610.5 million in the year-ago period.

Its board proposed an interim ordinary dividend per share of S$0.05 for the half year, up from S$0.04 in H1 2020. This is the group's highest interim dividend since it listed, Wilmar International (Wilmar) F34 said on Wednesday evening.

The proposed dividend will be payable on Aug 27, after the books are closed on Aug 20.

The first-half net profit improved on the back of better performance in both the feed and industrial products segment and the plantation and sugar milling segment, as well as higher contributions from associates and joint ventures.

Excluding gains from non-operating items, core net profit for the six months ended June 30 rose 15 per cent on the year to US$732.2 million.

Earnings per share stood at 11.9 US cents, compared with 9.6 cents in the corresponding period last year.

Revenue grew 30.4 per cent to about US$29.53 billion, from US$22.66 billion in H1 2020.

This was thanks to higher commodity prices in the current period and an overall increase in sales volume, especially from the medium pack and bulk products in the food products segment, Wilmar said.

Kuok Khoon Hong, chairman and chief executive of Wilmar, said that the group's results were "satisfactory despite the challenging operating conditions created by both Covid-19 and increasing commodity prices".

The feed and industrial products segment is expected to continue to perform well amid positive downstream margins and sustained strong demand from the tropical oils businesses, he added.

Meanwhile, the plantation and sugar milling segment should also benefit from higher palm oil and sugar prices, Mr Kuok noted.

"Currently, crush margins in China have improved slightly from the depressed levels in the second quarter, and we expect it to improve further in the third quarter," he said.

Separately, on Tuesday evening, Wilmar clarified that Adani Wilmar Limited's (AWL) proposed listing in India does not require the approval of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) or Wilmar's shareholders.

This is because the chain listing provisions in the SGX Listing Manual apply to "a subsidiary or parent company of an existing listed issuer", and AWL is neither a subsidiary nor a parent company of Wilmar.

AWL is a 50:50 joint venture between the Adani group and the Wilmar group. AWL's businesses and assets are also clearly differentiated and managed independently of Wilmar, the latter said.

AWL is one of the few large fast-moving consumer goods companies in India. It plans to raise up to 45 billion rupees (S$822.3 million) in a dual listing on both the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India.

Shares of mainboard-listed Wilmar closed 0.2 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$4.49 on Wednesday, before the results were released.