PALMOILMAGAZINE, SINGAPORE – Palm oil company Bumitama Agri Ltd. announced its quarterly results for the period ending March 2024. With the main production of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK) the company’s total revenue increased by 8% or IDR 3.87 trillion for the first quarter of 2024 (1Q2024), compared to the same period last year (1Q2023).
This significant increase was due to CPO trading, which accounted for 91% of total trading. Despite a 1% drop in average selling price, CPO sales volume increased by 7% year-on-year (YoY). “CPO trading contributed Rp 3.54 trillion in 1Q14, up from Rp 3.32 trillion in 1Q13,” the company said in an official statement to Palmoilmagazine.com on Tuesday (14/5/2024).
Despite the increase in revenue, net profit fell 23% YoY to Rp 328.38 billion in 1Q24. This was due to the rise in the US dollar caused by the Fed’s interest rate hike. However if excluding the loss from the rising dollar, headline earnings would have increased 23% YoY to IDR 373.69 billion. EBITDA also increased 8% YoY to Rp 743.21 billion with EBITDA margin increasing 0.1% to 19.2%.
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Final supply in Indonesia in February 2024 stood at 3.26 million tons, 25% below the average level over the past 24 months. Malaysia secured 1.7 million tons in March 2024, less than the safety level at 2 million tons. The lack of supply is evident on Bursa Derivatives Malaysia with the backwardation future curve formed since January 2024. Spot prices are trading higher than estimated future prices.
“Bumitama produced 8% more fresh fruit bunches than 1Q24 production with a total of 1.14 million tons. Internal FFB volume increased 2% to 764 thousand tons, while external FFB production increased 20% to 387 thousand tons. CPO production increased by 9% YoY to 256 thousand tons in 1Q24. Yield also increased by 0.4 points to 22.5%,” the company wrote in its report.
In April 2024, the ENSO index returned to neutral levels, ending the 2023-2024 El Nino event which was one of the strongest in history. The extreme weather made supply very close to the increased domestic demand in the month of Ramadan. This led CPO prices to peak at IDR 13,400 per kg in early April. (T3)
