Higher palm oil prices, lower interest expenses among reasons for the increase

 

[SINGAPORE] Golden Agri-Resources recorded a net profit of US$160.3 million for the first half of 2025, a 56.5 per cent jump from the year-ago period, the palm oil company said in a bourse filing on Thursday (Aug 14).  

 

Revenue rose 19.6 per cent to US$6.2 billion, from US$5.1 billion the year before, supported by a 19 per cent increase in crude palm oil market prices. 

 

&ldquo Higher plantation output allowed the company to capitalise on stronger crude palm oil prices, while offsetting reduced sales volumes,&rdquo Golden Agri-Resources said.

 

The higher net profit was also due to lower interest expenses and reduced foreign exchange loss. 

 

Franky Widjaja, chairman and chief executive officer of Golden Agri-Resources, said: &ldquo Favourable weather conditions have helped Indonesian palm oil to continue its recovery in 2025, in line with global vegetable oil supply trends.&rdquo

 

The CEO added: &ldquo Although global economic growth is slowing down, we see gradual improvement in palm oil demand driven by staple food consumption and smooth implementation of the B40 biodiesel policy. Nonetheless, we continue to anticipate factors that may influence price trends and trade flows, including global geopolitical tensions and changing trade tariffs.&rdquo  

 

Earnings per share stood at US$0.0126 in the first half of 2025, an increase from US$0.0081 in the first half of 2024. 

 

No dividend was declared for the first half, unchanged from the year ago period. 

 

For 2025, Golden Agri-Resources said it is targeting capital expenditure of US$350 million, mainly for replanting, the expansion of downstream processing plants and the enhancement of downstream facilities including for traceable products and carbon emission reduction initiatives. 

Revenue is up 19% to US$3 billion with the increase in crude palm oil prices

 

[SINGAPORE] Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) reported net profit of US$55 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, up 47 per cent from US$37 million in the previous corresponding period. This was mostly driven by stronger plantation output and an appreciation in the price of crude palm oil, the company said on Thursday (May 15).

 

Revenue was up 19 per cent or US$2.6 billion in the year-ago period at US$3 billion.

 

This rise was driven by an increase in crude palm oil market prices of 27 per cent from the previous corresponding period, averaging US$1,156 per tonne in the quarter.

 

This appreciation offset a fall in downstream sales volume, the company said.

 

It reported a 5 per cent drop in year-on-year sales to 2.8 million tonnes in the quarter, down from 2.9 million tonnes. This was in line with slowing global economic conditions, GAR noted.

 

Operational performance in upstream palm oil product output grew 11 per cent to 658,000 tonnes from 590,000 tonnes in the corresponding period of the year before.

 

Fruit yield for the quarter climbed 12 per cent to 4.35 tonnes per hectare as the impact of El Nino tailed off.

 

GAR&rsquo s planted area totalled about 534,000 hectares, of which about 499,000 hectares were mature. The total area consisted of 417,000 hectares of nucleus estates and 117,000 hectares of plasma estates.

 

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for the quarter grew 12 per cent to US$259 million, up from US$231 million the year before.

 

Crude palm oil prices to stay robust on inventory crunch, but may not lift all SGX agri counters

Meanwhile, the company reported foreign exchange losses of US$7 million, down 70 per cent from the US$22 million loss in Q1 2024.

 

GAR said that palm oil production in early 2025 experienced a recovery due to previous weather-related disruptions subsiding.

 

Yet, the company added that it expected geopolitical volatility and shifting weather patterns to continue to drag on growth prospects in soft commodities. Along with narrowing price premiums for the commodity, GAR sees these factors supporting crude palm oil prices in the near term.