Golden Agri Resources hit by $38.25m loss in Q4

It warned that it will continue to be hurt by prices of crude palm oil and competing seed oils.

It was a tough Q4 for Golden Agri Resources as it sank into the red with a $38.25m (US$29.08m) loss. This dented its full-year profits, which shrank 81.5% YoY to $97.36m (US$74.03m).

According to its financial statement, its low profits in 2017 was caused by the absence of deferred tax credit. However, revenue increased 4% to $9.86b (US$7.5b) due to higher production of its plantations combined with a higher average selling price.

Revenue from GAR’s plantations and palm oil mills segment increased by 7.4% to $2.2b (US$1.67b) mainly attributable to higher average crude palm oil (CPO) price and the recovery in palm productions. The revenue of its palm and laurics segment increased by 5.1% to $8.65b (US$6.58b) due to higher average net realised prices in line with higher commodities prices.

Meanwhile, the revenue from its oilseeds segment fell 12.2% to $869.25m (US$661m). This was mainly due to lower volume, coupled with higher input prices during the current year

GAR warned that its operating performance will continue to be affected by the prices of CPO and competing seed oils, fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates and weather conditions. “We expect the CPO prices to remain stable supported by global demand growth, including the implementation of the biodiesel mandate in Indonesia,” it added.