KUALA LUMPUR:  Boustead Plantations Bhd posted a net profit of RM17.97 million in the third quarter (Q3) ended September 30, 2020 versus a net loss of RM34.31 million in the same quarter last year.

Its revenue increased 47.7 per cent to RM205.68 million from RM139.24 million year-on-year.

In a statement today, Boustead Plantations said the strong results were primarily driven by higher palm product selling prices, which resulted in a profit from operations of RM40 million. 

In line with the company’s commitment to delivering shareholder value, the board of directors has declared a single tier dividend of 0.5 sen share. 

The dividend will be paid on December 30 to shareholders on the register as at December 9 this year.

For the nine-month period, Boustead Plantations’ net profit eased 46 per cent to RM15.49 million from RM28.72 million, while revenue increased 34.5 per cent to RM535.43 million from RM398.09 million.

It said for the remainder of the year, crude palm oil (CPO) prices, crop production and its ongoing transformation programme would remain key performance drivers. 

“CPO prices are expected to remain supportive on the back of robust demand for palm oil from China, India, Europe and Pakistan. 

“Strong global demand and lower than expected production have also resulted in extremely tight Malaysian palm oil inventories,” it said.

Boustead Plantations said in addition, weather conditions were also set to be a major determining factor for CPO and other vegetable oil prices for the remainder of the year, particularly due to the current La Nina weather patterns. 

“This has seen a recent downward revision of crop estimates for soybean, sunflower seed and other oilseeds triggering heavy buying and elevating CPO price to the RM3,000 range. 

“However, the recent surge of Covid-19 cases could potentially impact global demand, particularly from the hotels, restaurants and catering (HORECA) sector.

“Nevertheless, despite some disruption in productivity improvement initiatives due to restrictions during the pandemic, BPB’s transformation programme is progressing well and the group is focused on remaining on track to achieve its objectives in order to ensure sustainable long-term growth,” it said.

Source: NST