
Wilmar's sugar business suffers bitter $48.9m loss
Higher operating expenses watered down what should have been sweet earnings.
It would seem like all the sweetness has been sucked out of agri-player Wilmar, as it recorded a loss of $48.9m (US$35m) in its sugar segment.
This is higher compared to last year's loss of $25.2m (US$18m). This was despite the 27.3% higher sales volume that bolstered revenue by 60.5%.
According to UOB KayHian, the segment was badgered by higher operating costs.
However, the brokerage firm said this division would continue to show steady performance moving forward to the rest of the year.
"It will be supported by stable sales volume in the merchandising & processing segment," it said.