KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Plantation Bhd
is looking forward to a satisfactory performance in the new financial year, as the labour situation improves alongside the rehabilitation of its Malaysian upstream operations.
In a statement, the plantations firm said it is also actively seeking strategic collaborative opportunities to advocate for positive change in the industry.
According to chairman Tan Sri Nik Norzrul Thani Nik Hassan Thani, the group closed FY23 with a "respectable set of results", following significant improvements to its fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production.
"I am confident that with its renewed commitment to excellence, the group will continue to do well in 2024," he said in a statement.
In the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2023, the group posted a net profit of RM200mil, down from RM562mil in the same quarter in 2022, representing an earnings per share of 2.9 sen against 8.1 sen in the comparative quarter.
The group reported revenue of RM5.28bil in 3QFY323 against RM5.67bil in 4QFY22.
Over the entire financial year, Sime Darby Plantation registered a net profit of RM1.86bil as compared to RM2.49bil in FY22, while revenue amounted to RM18.43bil compared to RM21.03bil in the previous year.
As a final dividend, the board of directors declared a payout of 6.05 sen per share, which brings the total dividend for FY23 to 15 sen per share.
During the year, the group's Malaysian upstream operations registered a 45% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in FFB production as a result of intensive rehabilitation efforts, with the steady return of foreign harvesters to Malaysia.
This strong performance led to a 15% and 6% y-o-y increase in overall FFB production for the group in 4QFY23 and FY23 respectively.
The group said the higher overall FFB production helped to mitigate the impact of lower average realised crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK) prices recorded in 4QFY23.
Meanwhile, the group's downstream operations, Sime Darby Oils, doubled its profit before interest and tax (PBIT) to RM183mil in 4QFY23 from RM89mil in 4QFY22, on the back of its European operations that mitigated the impact of lower margins in its Asia Pacific operations.
