Wilmar squeezed by poorer margins, associates' losses

LOWER margins and losses from associates dented Wilmar International's second-quarter bottomline.

Wilmar, Asia-Pacific's biggest listed agricultural products company, posted a 21.9 per cent drop in net profit to US$170.7 million for the three months ended June, from US$218.5 million a year ago.

Palm and laurics suffered a refining margin squeeze because of tighter supply of crude palm oil (CPO) and excess refining capacity in the industry. This segment recorded a 4 per cent dip in sales volume to six million tonnes in the second-quarter.