“Management expects the average CPO price for FY24 to stand above RM4,000 per tonne and is of the view the group could still benefit from the current level of CPO price, especially the plantation operations,” Kim Loong said.
PETALING JAYA: Palm oil player Kim Loong Resources Bhd
expects fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production from its acreages to rise by 15% its current financial year ending Jan 31, 2024 (FY24) compared with FY23.
The planter said this would result in more replanted areas coming into maturity and better age profile of young palm productive areas.
Its palm oil milling operations are expected to maintain total processing quantity at 1.5 million tonnes of FFB, at the minimum, for the current financial year.
“Our biogas plant at Keningau, Sabah has commenced supply of power to the grid in December 2022 and we expect this plant to contribute positively to revenue in FY24,” Kim Loong said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
It expects its biogas plant at Telupid, Sabah to commence operations in the second half of FY24.
Crude palm oil (CPO) price are expected to remain volatile and hence hard to predict, it added.
“Management expects the average CPO price for FY24 to stand above RM4,000 per tonne and is of the view the group could still benefit from the current level of CPO price, especially the plantation operations,” Kim Loong said.
It added the industry outlook remains challenging due to the persistent labour shortage issue.
Despite the issues, the group expects to perform satisfactorily for FY24.
For the final quarter of its financial year 2023 (4Q23), Kim Loong’s revenue dipped by 13% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM431.82mil, due to lower contributions from both its plantation and milling segments.
Its net profit however grew 19% y-o-y to RM36.92mil.
Kim Loong saw lower revenue and profit contribution from its plantation operations in the quarter due to lower average FFB selling price and despite a higher FFB production recorded.
“Higher fertiliser cost recognised during the current quarter was also a contributing factor to lower profit,” it added.
Revenue from its palm oil milling operations was weaker due to a 22% lower average selling price despite higher sales quantity.
“Profit from palm oil milling operations for the current quarter was 40% higher due to better processing margin and higher processing volume,” Kim Loong explained.
For FY23, Kim Loong achieved a record high revenue and net profit of RM1.91bil and RM162.56mil respectively, which were 12% and 20% higher than in FY22, helped by higher average selling prices of FFB and CPO.
FFB and CPO production for FY23 was also higher by 8% and 6% respectively as compared to FY22.
Kim Loong said the plantation operations did not face problems in selling its FFB production as most of the produce was supplied to mills within the group.
The company declared a final single tier dividend of five sen per share in respect of FY23.
