Wilmar's Q1 profit up 49% at US$241.2m

Singapore

LIFTED by improved crushing margins, better performing consumer products and the absence of foreign exchange losses, agribusiness group Wilmar International's net profit for its first quarter ended March 31, 2015, jumped 49.1 per cent to US$241.2 million, from US$161.8 million in the year-ago period.

The bottomline improvement was despite an 8.3 per cent slump in the group's revenues to US$9.41 billion, from US$10.27 billion as a result of lower commodity prices.

The period showed net operating items - taking into consideration other operating income and expenses - swinging to a positive US$40.8 million from a negative US$137.5 million - mainly due to the absence of…