First Resources has reported 3QFY2023 ended Sept 30 sales of US$248.3 million ($337.9 million), 31.4% lower y-o-y. Ebitda for the period fell by 48.3% y-o-y to US$82.8 million. Underlying net profit for the quarter plunged by 56.0% y-o-y to US$51.1 million.
9MFY2023 sales fell by 22.3% y-o-y to US$697.1 million while ebitda fell by 44.8% y-o-y to US$215.7 million. Underlying net profit fell by 53.2% y-o-y to US$118.8 million.
The dip in figures were due to the lower palm oil prices compared to the record prices in the year before.
For the 3QFY2023, the group saw an improvement in production volumes although sales volumes were impacted by a net inventory build-up of 50,000 tonnes as compared to a net drawdown of 14,000 tonnes in the same period last year.
Sales volumes for the 9MFY2023 also saw improvements y-o-y due to the effects of a larger build-up in inventory from the temporary export ban last year.
3QFY2023 fresh fruit bunches (FFB) harvested rose by 2.4% y-o-y to 1.06 million tonnes while 9MFY2023 FFB fell by 1.8% y-o-y to 2.61 million tonnes.
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Crude palm oil (CPO) production rose by 13.5% y-o-y to 286,574 tonnes for the 3QFY2023 and up by 6.2% y-o-y to 693,222 tonnes for the 9MFY2023.
Palm kernal (PK) production rose by 9.1% y-o-y to 62,067 tonnes for the 3QFY2023 and by 3.0% y-o-y to 150,301 tonnes for the 9MFY2023.
FFB yield stood at 5.4% for the 3QFY2023 and 13.4% for the 9MFY2023 while CPO yield stood at 1.2% and 3.0% for the 3QFY2023 and 9MFY2023 respectively.
CPO extraction rate stood at 22.8% and 22.6% for the 3QFY2023 and 9MFY2023 while PK extraction rate stood at 4.9% and 4.9% for the 3QFY2023 and 9MFY2023 respectively.
As at Sept 30, equity attributable to owners of the company fell by 2.3% to US$1.28 billion, down from US$1.31 billion as at Dec 31, 2022. This was mainly due to dividends paid during the 9MFY2023 and partly offset by the profits from foreign currency (forex) translation gains from the appreciation of the Indonesian rupiah (IDR) against the US dollar (USD).
“Looking ahead, the fundamentals of the palm oil industry continue to be influenced by the macroeconomic environment and geopolitical tensions, as well as the potential impacts of the brewing El Nino on global supplies of palm and other vegetable oils. Indonesia’s policies, namely the B35 biodiesel mandate and domestic market obligation (DMO), are expected to persist in driving strength in domestic demand and consumption,” says the group in its Nov 10 statement.
“On the production front, the group’s output for 4QFY2023 is expected to taper off quarter-on-quarter from its peak production quarter in 3QFY2023, whilst still showing growth against 4QFY2022,” it adds.
Shares in First Resources EB5 closed flat at $1.48 on Nov 9.
