KUALA LUMPUR: SD Guthrie Bhd
, formerly Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, posted lower earnings in the first quarter of its financial year as profitability in the upstream segment was impacted by lower crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK) prices.
However, stronger results from the group's industrial development and downstream segments helped to mitigate the underperformance, it said in a stock exchange filing.
In 1QFY26, the group recorded a net profit of RM560mil, down from RM567mil in the year-ago quarter, resulting in a lower earnings per share of 8.1 sen as compared to 8.2 sen previously.
Quarterly revenue fell to RM4.69bil from RM4.82bil in the previous comparative quarter.
According to a statement, the group's upstream segment was impacted by lower realised CPO and PK prices, which declined 10% and 8% respectively from the previous corresponding quarter.
Data from the bourse filing showed pre-tax profit from the group's Malaysian upstream operations in 1QFY26 more than halved to RM133mil from RM285mil in the 1QFY25. Pre-tax earnings from upstream Indonesia fell 27% to RM152mil, while Upstream Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands dipped 6% to RM244mil.
SD Guthrie's downstream operations, however, recorded a 43% year-on-year increase in pre-tax profit to RM109mil, underpinned by higher sales volumes and positive margin recovery in its Asia Pacific and European operations, alongside stronger contributions from joint ventures.
Meanwhile, the group's industrial development segment registered a RM160mil pre-tax profit from an outright third-party land sale.
Moving forward, the group said CPO prices are expected to remain supported in the near term, underpinned by weather-related supply risks and the conflict in the Middle East.
"While market conditions remain unpredictable at best, the team is focused on what we can control – productivity, quality and costs – to sustain and build upon last year's strong performance," said group managing director Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad.
He added that the group remains cautious on its outlook for FY26 amidst an inherently volatile and policy-sensitive operating environment.
