InfoSAWIT, SINGAPORE - Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), a global scalae agribusiness palm oil company reported that the company got decreasing net profits 60% in the 2024 first quarter that ended in March 2024. The net profits just reached US$ 37 million compared to the same period last year because of the continuous cheaper crude palm oil (CPO) during the period.
The income of the company in the first quarter got escalated 1% to be US$ 2,6 billion that happened from the higher selling though the impacts of the decreasing price still occurred. GAR also announced the financial report on Wednesday (15 May 2024), and showed that CPO market price (FOB Belawan) got decreased 8% year on year (YoY) with the average at US$ 910 per ton to US$ 990 per ton in the same period last year.
The financial performance from GAR in the 2024 first quarter still remained goo though CPO price got cheaper. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) decreased 6% to be US$ 231 million, but the company successfully maintain the margin more than 9 percent.
“Plantation business got decreasing output while the trade volume in downstream sector should be responsible on selling expectation,” the representative of GAR as InfoSAWIT quoted from Business Times, Saturday (8/6/2024).
In a whole, GAR got solid performance in the period. The decreasing profits namely happened for the loss of currency gap to the profits in the first quarter last year, higher interest expense as same as the market trend, general costs and seasonal administration that happened in the period.
GAR also mentioned that the company would keep focusing on having additional values on products and services to escalate the margins. “By taking advantages on innovation and technology in agriculture to optimize productivity and maintain cost competition while implementing sustainable production,” the representative said.
The company claimed there were palm oil supply issues in the 2024 first quarter namely because of the low seasonal harvest and the impact of El Nino in the third quarter of 2023.
“Though the supplies got decrease in phase in the next quarter, the progressive prospect could have the limit,” GAR said.
The company also mentioned the geopolitics and climate fluctuation would maintain uncertainty in vegetable oil sectors and would support CPO price until the rests of this year. (T2)
