IndoAgri sinks into the red with 125.68b rupiah loss for Q3

INDOFOOD Agri Resources (IndoAgri) has sunk into the red with a net loss of 125.68 billion rupiah (S$12.2 million) for third quarter ended Sept 30, continuing to be adversely affected by weak commodity prices.

The net loss was compared with a net profit of S$8.74 billion a year ago, according to the agribusiness' results posted on Thursday.

Loss per share stood at 90 rupiah for the quarter, from earnings per share of 6.3 rupiah a year ago.

Revenue for Q3 fell 3.1 per cent to 3.59 trillion rupiah, from 3.71 trillion rupiah a year ago. Its plantation division's revenue came in flat for the quarter due to lower selling prices of palm products and sugar, despite a higher sales volume.

No dividend has been declared for the current financial period, and the company will review this at the year end, it said.

Looking ahead, IndoAgri said ongoing US-China trade tensions continue to affect global trade flows and economic growth - negatively impacting agricultural commodities prices.

Crude palm oil prices will also remain volatile with demand projected from China and India as key import markets. The relative price of palm oil to crude oil also affects discretionary biodiesel demand.

"Against this backdrop of a volatile commodity price environment, we prioritise our capital expenditure investment in growth area and focus on cost control measures and other innovations to increase productivity," it added.

IndoAgri shares last traded flat at 31.5 Singapore cents on Tuesday.