First Resources has reported net profit of US$37.1 million ($50.1 million) for the 3QFY2020 ended Sept 30, some 33.0% higher than the US$27.9 million reported a year ago.

 

3QFY2020 earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was up 15.5% y-o-y to US$71.4 million, while sales registered a 20.7% growth y-o-y to US$166.1 million for the period.

 

For the 9MFY2020, net profit rose 40.6% y-o-y to US$80.3 million. EBITDA climbed 24.4% y-o-y to US$178.3 million while sales inched up 3.2% y-o-y to US$444.3 million.

 

The stronger performance was attributable to the higher average selling prices (ASPs) achieved this year, while the improvement in topline performance for 3QFY2020 was also due to higher sales volumes during the quarter.

 

Sales volumes for 9MFY2020, however, came in lower compared to the same period a year ago from the effects of lower purchases of crude palm oil (CPO) from third parties and a net inventory build-up of 24,000 tonnes in 9MFY2020 compared to a net drawdown of 16,000 tones in 9MFY2019.

 

Equity attributable to owners fell by 6.2% to US$979.4 million as at Sept 30, compared to the US$1.04 billion as at Dec 31, 2019. The decline was mainly due to the foreign currency translation losses from the depreciation of the Indonesian rupiah against the USD during the period.

 

The group&rsquo s financial position remains healthy with net gearing ratio at 0.27 times and cash and bank balances of US$174.4 million as at Sept 30.

 

According to the group, the recovery in palm oil prices has been partly driven by lower-than-expected supply of palm and other edible oils. Restocking of tight palm oil inventories by importing countries such as China and India, as well as the rise in competing edible oil prices, has also been positive to palm oil demand and is expected to continue to be supportive of prices.

 

&ldquo The group is cautiously optimistic of the supply-demand dynamics of the palm oil industry and will continue to keep watch on macroeconomic developments that may influence agricultural commodity prices,&rdquo it says.