RHB downgraded First Resources : EB5 +2.88% to &ldquo sell&rdquo from &ldquo neutral&rdquo , and lowered its target price to S$1.20 from S$1.60 on Monday (May 15).

 

The downgrade implies a potential downside of 12.4 per cent from the counter&rsquo s last trading price of S$1.37 as at 11.44 am. At the time, the palm oil producer&rsquo s shares were down 1.4 per cent or S$0.02.

 

RHB&rsquo s new target price is nine times its FY2023 price-to-earnings estimate. The research house noted that the palm oil producer is trading at a &ldquo steep&rdquo price-to-earnings ratio of 9.5 times, higher than its peers, who are trading between six to nine times.

 

On Friday, First Resources reported a disappointing 73.8 per cent fall in net profit to US$19.3 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, 2023, on lower sales and a moderation in average selling prices.

 

Q1 net profit only made up 8 to 9 per cent of RHB&rsquo s and consensus FY2023 earnings forecast, RHB said.

 

RHB slashed its earnings estimates for First Resources by 20 per cent to 26 per cent for FY2023 to FY2025. The decline comes as it expects lower output of fresh fruit bunches, lower downstream margins and higher unit costs. The research team also took into account its latest in-house foreign exchange assumptions.

 

It also trimmed its growth forecast for fresh fruit bunches in FY2023 to 1.2 per cent year on year, and maintained its FY2024 to FY2025 growth forecast at 2 per cent to 4 per cent year on year.

 

This comes as First Resources&rsquo nucleus fresh fruit bunches production fell by 3.3 per cent on year, below RHB&rsquo s 2.2 per cent projection and the management&rsquo s 0 per cent to 5 per cent guidance for FY2023.

 

Remaining conservative, the research house also trimmed its estimates for the group&rsquo s downstream margins for FY2023 to FY2025 to reflect a gradual recovery. However, it expects First Resources&rsquo downstream margins to remain positive for the next few quarters, given Indonesia&rsquo s competitive edge over Malaysia.

 

FIRST : EB5 +0.72%Resources : EB5 +0.72% reported a 73.8 per cent fall in net profit to US$19.3 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, from US$73.6 million the year before.

 

The palm oil producer&rsquo s sales decreased 34.7 per cent to US$198.2 million, from US$303.5 million. 

 

Against record-high palm oil prices in 2022, First Resources&rsquo average selling prices and profitability for Q1 moderated due to a high-base effect, it said on Friday (May 12). 

 

It added that overall sales volumes were impacted by a net inventory build-up of 19,000 tonnes and lower production volumes. 

 

In the quarter, the company harvested 731,672 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches, down 2.8 per cent from 752,927 tonnes the previous year. 

 

Crude palm oil production declined 3.8 per cent to 185,263 tonnes, from 192,667 tonnes. 

 

The group&rsquo s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for Q1 was US$55.1 million, down 55.3 per cent from US$123.3 million. 

 

&ldquo Palm oil prices had moderated since mid-last year and have been restrained by weakening prices of competing vegetable oils amid ample world supplies and the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in March this year,&rdquo said First Resources. 

 

However, the group added that the fundamentals of the palm oil industry were still supported by tight inventories from producing countries and continued domestic consumption demand from Indonesia, due to a policy restricting the country&rsquo s palm oil export volumes.

 

As at Mar 31, the group said its &ldquo financial position remains strong&rdquo with a gross gearing ratio of 0.19 times, as well as cash and bank balances of US$486 million.