Bumitama Agri Limited (BAL) has reported earnings of 873 billion rupiah ($87.3 million) for the 1QFY2022 ended March, 424% higher than earnings of 167 billion rupiah in the corresponding period the year before.
Revenue for the quarter increased 69% y-o-y to 3.9 trillion rupiah.
The higher figures were attributable to sales from both crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK), which enjoyed higher average selling prices (ASPs).
The robust performance was also due to the elevated commodity prices, which continued to climb from the already-heightened levels at the 4QFY2021.
Revenue for CPO increased by 66% y-o-y to 3.23 trillion rupiah thanks to the 76% y-o-y growth in ASP to 13,600 rupiah per kg.
Production volume, however, fell 4% y-o-y to 262,000 tonnes. Productivity fell three percentage points to 22.5%.
See also: Trump wins Republican nomination, setting up rematch with Biden
Sales volume fell 5% y-o-y to 238,000 tonnes.
Revenue for PK increased by 84% to 671 billion rupiah, also thanks to the 81% y-o-y surge in ASP to 11,900 rupiah per kg.
Production increased by 1% y-o-y to 56,000 tonnes. Productivity increased by 01.1 percentage points y-o-y to 4.8%.
Sales volume for PK increased by 2% y-o-y to 56,000 tonnes.
As a result, business margins for the period were lifted to a multi-year high.
Gross profit surged 196% y-o-y to 1.50 trillion rupiah.
EBITDA surged 189% y-o-y to 1.48 trillion rupiah.
EBITDA margin increased 15.7 percentage points y-o-y to 37.8%, the highest since 2014
Net margin was also lifted to 22.4%, marking another high since 2014.
During the quarter, BAL’s total fresh fruit bunches (FFB) harvest fell 3% y-o-y to 1.17 million tonnes.
For more stories about where money flows, click here for Capital Section
FFB yield also fell 4% y-o-y to 4.7 tonnes per hectare during the same period.
The average oil extraction rate (OER) fell 0.3 percentage points to 22.5% in the 1QFY2022.
As at end-March, BAL has a planted area of about 188,000 hectares. Of these, nucleus estates make up 132,000 hectares, and plasma estates cover some 56,000 hectares. The total planted area has an average age of 12.5 years old.
Looking ahead, BAL is positive on its prospects. “[The] normalising output supported by favourable weather thus far will continue to take shape in the coming quarters”, says the group.
“Management is confident on the year’s prospect as palm oil price remains elevated to date, attributable to the normalizing demand coinciding with tight supply condition in the global vegetable oil complex. The geopolitical conflict in the Black Sea region has exacerbated the burdensome stockpile situation,” it adds.
As at 10.31am, shares in BAL are trading 0.5 cent lower or 0.67% down at 74 cents.
