PETALING JAYA: SD Guthrie Bhd chalked up a net profit of RM772 million in the fourth quarter of the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024 (Q4’24) bringing its full-year net profit to RM2.16 billion, a 16% increase from FY23.
On a recurring basis, the group’s FY24 profit before interest and tax (recurring PBIT) surged 47% year-on-year (YoY) to RM2.65 billion from RM1.80 billion in FY23, driven primarily by the strong performance of its Malaysian upstream business.
Upstream Malaysia’s recurring PBIT more than tripled to RM973 million from RM275 million in the previous year, as focused efforts to rehabilitate and restore operations to previous levels yielded positive results, enabling the group to capitalise on strong crude palm oil prices (CPO).
The group’s average realised CPO and palm kernel prices were 9% and 38% higher YoY, to RM4,101 per tonne and RM2,418 per tonne, respectively. Minamas Plantations and New Britain Palm Oil also performed better in FY24 than in FY23, despite challenging operating conditions.
The group’s fourth quarter net profit of RM772 million nearly quadrupled compared to the previous corresponding quarter.
SD Guthrie International, the group’s downstream segment, reported a PBIT of RM579 million for FY24, driven by stronger profits from Asia-Pacific bulk operations. Europe continues to be the primary driver of SDGI’s performance, delivering strong margins.
Group non-recurring profits for FY24 of RM605 million largely comprised net gains from land disposals in Malaysia, which mitigated the impairment charges on assets in Malaysia and a subsidiary held for sale in Indonesia.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the group expects to perform satisfactorily in FY25.
The group has declared a final dividend of 11.71 sen per share, which together with the interim dividend of 4.65 sen per share, translates to a total single tier dividend of 16.36 sen per share for FY24. The total dividend declared for FY24 increased by 1.36 sen compared to FY23’s total dividend of 15 sen per share.
