KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 ― Malaysia’s Felda Global Ventures Bhd, the world’s No.3 palm plantation operator, chalked up a net profit in the quarter that ended in September versus a net loss in the same period last year, buoyed by increased production of palm fruit.
The company posted a net profit of RM38.8 million in its third quarter, compared with a net loss of RM73.6 million the previous year, it said today in a statement to the local stock exchange.
Revenue dipped to RM4.15 billion, versus RM4.19 billion the year before.
FGV said its quarterly production of palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB) grew by 18 per cent on-year, with its plantation operations also boosted by robust palm oil prices.
Higher margins in the company’s fertilizer business and increased profits in its logistics operations contributed to profits during the first nine months of 2017, chief executive Datuk Zakaria Arshad said in a statement.
“Based on the significant improvement in our FFB production for October, we expect FGV to perform better at the close of the financial year compared to 2016,” he said.
That comes after FGV was plunged into a management crisis in June when Zakaria was forced to step aside during an investigation initiated by the firm’s chairman at the time into transactions at a subsidiary.
But the chairman later resigned and Zakaria, who denied any wrongdoing, was reinstated in mid-October following a four-month leave of absence.
FGV’s shares were 0.6-per cent lower at the midday break ahead of its results announcement, slightly underperforming the benchmark index. ― Reuters
