Golden Agri-Resources' Q4 profit more than doubles to US$46.3m

HIGHER sales volume and a large tax credit lifted earnings for Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) in its fourth quarter.

Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2016, leapt 136.7 per cent to US$46.3 million from the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Friday evening.

Revenue jumped 37.8 per cent to US$2.14 billion from the previous year. The gain in revenue was due partly to production improving as the effects of El Nino ceased, the group said.

Earnings per share rose to 0.36 US cent, from 0.15 US cent in the preceding year.

The group has proposed a final dividend of 0.635 Singapore cent a share, representing 30 per cent of its underlying profit, against 0.502 Singapore cent a share the previous year.

GAR chairman and CEO Franky Widjaja said in a statement the palm oil market will remain volatile. "But we are confident that the longer-term outlook continues to be promising as palm oil's productivity leads the vegetable oil industry."