Genting Plantations said its prospects for 2023 will depend on palm products prices and its fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production.
KUALA LUMPUR: Crude palm oil (CPO) prices in the short term are expected to remain supported by increased demand due to the widening discount against other edible oils and Indonesia’s higher biodiesel mandate, according to Genting Plantations Bhd
.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the plantation group also noted that incremental supply is expected to decline in line with the slower expansion of new plantings in recent years.
It added that its prospects for 2023 will depend on palm products prices and its fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production.
Genting Plantations expects an improvement in its FFB production, spurred by additional harvesting areas and progression of existing mature areas into higher yielding brackets in Indonesia, barring any weather anomalies.
“The production growth may be moderated by ongoing replanting activities in Malaysia,” it said.
Meanwhile, its property segment will continue to offer products that cater to a broader market segment.
Genting Plantations said patronage of its Premium Outlets is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
Its agriculture technology segment will continue to innovate to expand the application of biological solutions, superior planting material, automation, mechanisation and digitalisation solutions at the group’s estates with the goal of improving operating efficiency, enabling traceability and enhancing sustainability.
Meanwhile, its downstream manufacturing segment is expected to face stiffer competition from its Indonesian counterparts that enjoy competitive pricing for feedstock due to price differentials arising from the imposition of export levy.
For its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (4Q22), Genting Plantations net profit dropped 65.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM55.86mil while revenue was lower by 26.1% y-o-y to RM791.2mil.
Genting Plantations said the reduced revenue in 4Q22 was due to lower palm product prices.
Earnings per share (EPS) in 4Q22 was 6.23 sen versus 18.02 sen a year earlier.
For the full financial year 2022 (FY22), net profit rose 9.1% y-o-y to RM471.4mil while revenue was up 1.9% y-o-y to RM3.2bil.
EPS for FY22 was 52.54 sen versus 48.17 sen in FY21.
Revenue for the year was underpinned by stronger palm product prices although this was mostly moderated by lower sales volume of refined palm products.
The group has declared a final single-tier dividend of four sen and a special single-tier dividend of 15 sen per share, with the ex-date on March 9, 2023 and payment on March 28. This brings the total dividend for FY22 to 34 sen a share versus 30 sen a share for FY21.
