Wilmar’s net profit rose 23% YoY to US$750.9m in H1 2021

This is on the back of higher profit from Feed and Industrial Products and Plantation & Sugar Milling.

The agribusiness group, Wilmar International Limited, posted a 23% increase in net profit to US$750.9m in the first half from US610.5m in the same period last year due to higher contributions from Feed and Industrial Products and Plantation & Sugar Milling segments.

Higher profit from its associates and joint ventures also contributed to the increase. Wilmar added that its core net profit rose 15.2% in the first half to US$732.2m.

Revenue for the period rose 30% to US$29.53b from US$22.66b in the same period last year due to higher commodity prices. This is also on the back of the overall increase in sales volume during the period especially from the medium pack and bilk products in the Food and Products segment.

Wilmar Chairman and CEO Kuok Khoon Hong said that the results for the first half have been “satisfactory despite the challenging operating conditions created by both COVID-19 and increasing commodity prices.”

“The strength of our diversified operations is that it enables the group to continue to perform well as weakness in one business is often offset by good performance in other segments. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the group’s performance for the rest of the year is expected to be satisfactory,” he said.

Wilmar said the Feed and Industrial Products achieved a 19% increase in pre-tax profit to US$478.8m in the first half due to the strong performance from tropical oils. Overall volume for the segment, meanwhile, declined by 0.6%.

The Plantation and Sugar Milling segment also saw an increase in pre-tax profit to US$164m from US$82.9m loss during the first half of 2020 on the back of firmer palm prices for oil palm plantation business and capitalisation of maintenance costs in Sugar Milling.

Its joint ventures and associates profit also improved 66% to US139.2m in the first half due to better results of its investments in Africa, Europe, and China. Its other segments also recorded a pre-tax profit of US$8.7m during the period, from a US$41.5m loss in the same period last year, due to the mark-to-market gains and investment income from Wilmar’s investment portfolio.

The Food Products segment, meanwhile, saw a 13% decrease in the first half to US$428.3m from US$495m “as higher commodity prices narrowed margins in the segment,” whilst its overall sales volume grew 9% during the period due to higher demand in the medium pack and bulk products.

Wilmar’s Board proposed an interim tax-exempt (one-tier) dividend of S$0.05 per share for the first half, payable on 27 August. Its assets as of 30 June stood at US$55.65b, whilst shareholders’ funds were at US$19.01b. Its adjusted net debts, excluding liquid working capital, rose to US$5.53b during the period from US$5.04 in the first half of 2020.