Malaysia's FGV Holdings quarterly profit jumps on higher margins

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's palm oil giant FGV Holdings reported a more than 16-fold jump in second-quarter profit on Monday, as higher crude palm oil prices boosted profit margins.

The world's largest crude palm oil producer reported a net profit of 338.82 million ringgit ($81.33 million) for the April to June period, compared with 20.5 million ringgit last year.

Malaysia's benchmark crude palm oil prices have rallied around 20% so far this year to record highs on tightening supply as the pandemic prolongs a labour shortage and movement restrictions.

FGV's quarterly revenue rose 42% to 4.68 billion ringgit.

The increase in profit was mainly due to higher margins for palm products, improved gross profit margins for the sugar business and higher throughput and cargo volume handled by its logistics business, the company said in a filing.

FGV's average realised crude palm oil price rose 44% to 3,333 ringgit per metric tonne for the quarter.