Batu Kawan Q3 net profit fell to RM82.81m

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — Batu Kawan Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended June 30, 2023 (3Q 2023) fell to RM82.81 million from RM304.29 million in the same quarter last year.

Revenue eased to RM5.35 billion from RM7.25 billion, resulting in the earnings per share dropping to 21.05 sen compared with 77.22 sen previously.

The directors did not recommend any dividend payment for the quarter.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the chemical manufacturing company said the decline in revenue was due to the lower profit in the plantation sector, mainly from lower selling prices and sales volume in crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel coupled with higher CPO production loss.

It said the manufacturing segment also recorded a loss of RM35.54 million against a profit of RM219.59 million in 2Q 2023 on the back of a 14.9 per cent lower revenue at RM4.52 billion from RM5.31 billion in the previous quarter, mainly due to losses registered by oleochemical division, refineries and kernel crushing operations but moderated by the industrial chemical division’s profit of RM39.40 million.

“The property development’s profit, however, increased 3.4 per cent to RM19.49 million (2Q 2023: RM18.86 million) on 7.1 per cent higher revenue of RM61.60 million (2Q2023: RM57.54 million),” it said.

It said that included in investment holdings/others was an unrealised foreign currency exchange translation gain of RM64.02 million (2Q2023: RM35.97 million gain) on inter-company loans and bank deposits denominated in foreign currencies.

“The company’s manufacturing segment, particularly oleochemical businesses in Europe and China, remain challenged with weakness in consumer demand,” it said.

It said the industrial chemical division also faced product price declines and higher energy and raw materials costs.

“Cumulative quarter overall, the company’s financial performance is expected to be significantly lower for the financial year 2023 compared to the previous financial year.

“However, the result of the fourth quarter is expected to be better,” it added. — Bernama