Sime Darby's Q2 profit soars on higher palm oil prices

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIAN conglomerate Sime Darby, which is proposing to carve out its plantations and property units into separate standalone listed entities, registered a 126 per cent jump in net profit to RM644 million (S$203.5 million) for the second quarter to end- December, with the significant improvement in earnings coming largely from higher crude palm oil (CPO) prices and better production of fresh fruit bunches (FFB).

The conglomerate saw a rise in revenue to RM12.3 billion for the quarter from RM11.8 billion a year ago. For the half year, its profit amounted to slightly over RM1 billion (RM609 million) on a revenue of RM22.4 billion (RM22 billion). The board has proposed a dividend of six sen per share for the quarter.