KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 — FGV Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (Q1 2022) returned to the black at RM369.24 million, from a net loss of RM35.42 million in Q1 2021.

The net profit was mainly contributed by higher margins of palm products, the downstream segment, fertilisers and the logistics business.

Revenue surged to RM5.85 billion during the quarter under review from RM3.39 billion previously amid higher average crude palm oil (CPO) price, the plantation company said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

“Profit in the plantation sector jumped to RM517.87 million from a RM52.80 million loss in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

“This was due to a higher average CPO price realised of RM5,058 per tonne compared to RM3,172 per tonne in the previous year’s corresponding quarter,” said FGV.

The profit in the plantation sector was also coupled with higher CPO sales volume in the current quarter, by 28 per cent.

“The improved performance of the sector was also underpinned by the downstream and fertiliser businesses and higher share of results from joint ventures from RM2.17 million to RM22.89 million reported in the current quarter,” it said.

FGV said the plantation sector’s profit was partially offset by the higher fair value charge on the land lease agreement of RM159.14 million compared to RM143.75 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Operationally, fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production rose to 0.83 million tonnes from 0.74 million tonnes while yield increased to 3.02 tonne per hectare in the current quarter, it said.

The oil extraction rate achieved in the current quarter was 20.28 per cent, improving from the 20.05 per cent registered in Q1 2021.

“We are pleased to announce another profitable quarter amidst the uncertainties and challenges faced by the group.

“We will strive to keep this positive momentum to meet the expectations of our stakeholders and to achieve the targets set for 2022,” group chief executive officer Mohd Nazrul Izam Mansor said in a separate statement.

Meanwhile, FGV’s sugar sector recorded a loss of RM30.78 million in Q1 2022 from RM50.68 million in the same period last year, mainly due to a lower gross margin on the back of higher raw sugar, freight and gas costs incurred in the current quarter.

Logistics and other sectors reported a higher Q1 2022 profit of RM21.92 million versus RM13.76 million previously. — Bernama