BUMITAMA Agri reported a net profit of 597.9 billion rupiah (S$51 million) for the third quarter ended Sep 30, down 31.6 per cent the year prior.
Revenue for Q3 FY2024 fell 7.6 per cent to four trillion rupiah from 4.3 trillion rupiah in the same period a year ago.
On Wednesday (Nov 13), Bumitama said its operational output has “largely gone sideways”, with low production volumes amid lagged negative effects from the successive weather extreme conditions in the past years.
Its fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production in Q3 remained muted, mainly due to lower bunch count. FFB yield for Q3 fell 25 per cent from the same quarter the year prior, and was 16 per cent lower over the nine-month period compared to the same period a year ago.
The group also recorded a fourth consecutive rise in quarterly average selling price in Q3. Average selling price of crude palm oil reached 12,735 rupiah per kg, up 18 per cent from Q3 2023.
This comes amid a tight global inventory situation, said the group. It added that palm oil inventory is expected to decline due to “lower-than-expected production persists in the first nine months in Indonesia”, as well as “policy changes in the top two producing countries”.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Within the palm kernel segment, average selling price was up 57 per cent to 7,900 rupiah per kg in Q3 2024, from 5,000 rupiah per kg in the year before.
The group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) fell 34.5 per cent on the year to 1.1 trillion rupiah from 1.6 trillion rupiah in Q3 FY2023. Ebitda margin for the quarter was down to 26.7 per cent.
For the nine months ended September 2024, the group’s net profit fell 29.5 per cent on the year to 1.5 trillion rupiah. Revenue inched down 1.9 per cent year on year to 11.6 trillion rupiah.
FFB yield over the nine-month period was down to 13 tonnes per hectare (ha), from 15.4 tonnes per ha.
Ebitda fell 22.4 per cent on the year to 2.9 trillion rupiah from 3.7 trillion rupiah, while Ebitda margin declined to 24.6 per cent from 31.2 per cent the prior year.
As at end-September 2024, the group had a planted area of about 186,000 ha comprising nucleus estates covering 124,000 ha and 62,000 ha of plasma estates. The average age stood at 14 years.
Shares of Bumitama Agri were trading down 0.6 per cent or S$0.005 at S$0.835 shortly after the market opened on Wednesday.
