Indofood Agri's Q2 earnings plunge 99%

Logo of Indofood Agri. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/INDOFOOD AGRI RESOURCES

SINGAPORE - Mainboard-listed Indofood Agri (IndoAgri) posted on Friday a 99.1 per cent plunge in second quarter profit to 2.06 billion rupiah (S$210,000), hurt by weak commodity prices.

Despite lower selling prices, revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015, rose 3.4 per cent to 4.13 trillion rupiah on higher sales volume of palm products.

The group's revenue so far this year has declined 10 per cent year-on-year due to the lower average selling prices of agriculture crops, IndoAgri said.

The key reasons for the lower crude palm oil prices were the slowdown of global demand in major markets such as China and Europe, weak crude oil prices which has "virtually eliminated" discretionary biodiesel demand, and higher soybean supplies from the US and South America.

""Nonetheless, we expect demand for basic commodities like palm oil to continue to grow, underpinned by growing consumer markets and a rising middle class," IndoAgri. said. "We also expect the higher biodiesel blending mandate of 15 per cent, announced by Indonesia's government in March 2015, to sustain domestic demand growth for palm oil products, albeit over time as the mandate of 15 per cent will not be achieved immediately."

Commenting on its other products, the firm added that rubber prices will remain under pressure in the medium term until global demand recovers, and sugar prices will also remain depressed until the current high level of sugar stocks worldwide falls.

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