Plantation REIT profit more than doubles in Q1

With CPO prices averaging at RM3,020 per tonne for the quarter under review, the fund had surpassed its reference price of RM1,500 per tonne and the previous corresponding quarter's RM1,904 per tonne.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's only plantation real estate investment trust, Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT, yesterday reported a 111% jump in its net profit to RM16.7mil for the first quarter ended March 31.

In comparison, it recorded net profit of RM7.9mil in the previous corresponding period, Boustead REIT Managers Sdn Bhd said in a statement.

Earnings per share rose as well to RM3.55 compared with RM1.99 previously.

The statement said the primary contributing factor for the strong performance was a direct impact of robust crude palm oil (CPO) prices, which contributed positively to higher performance-based rental income for the quarter under review.

Boustead REIT Managers chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin said: “With the full realisation of the injection of the Lepan Kabu plantation, our fund has delivered strong results for the first quarter.

“We are confident with the momentum in CPO prices, Malaysia’s only Islamic plantation REIT will continue to appeal to discerning investors.”

With CPO prices averaging at RM3,020 per tonne for the quarter under review, the fund had surpassed its reference price of RM1,500 per tonne and the previous corresponding quarter's RM1,904 per tonne, the statement added.

Meanwhile, Hektar REIT reported a lower first quarter net profit of RM8.7mil against RM11.2mil in the previous corresponding quarter while revenue fell to RM18.8mil from RM23.6mil.

In a statement yesterday, Hektar Asset Management Sdn Bhd said the net profit of RM8.7mil was 22% lower than the RM11.2mil achieved during the comparable period that comprised four months (December 2006 to March 2007).

For comparison purposes, if the net profit for December 2006 were excluded from the tabulation for the comparable period, the adjusted net profit would be RM8.2mil.

“Therefore, the net profit would be 6% higher than the adjusted RM8.2mil. The increase is mainly due to improvement in rental rates,” the statement added.

Accordingly, the revenue of RM23.6mil for the four months was also not a clean comparison with the first three months' revenue of RM18.8mil, it said.

By The Star