PETALING JAYA: IOI Corp Bhd posted a weaker fourth quarter ended June 30 net profit of RM267.1mil compared with RM410.6mil a year ago due to lower earnings from the plantation segment, property investment and non-recurring gain realised at the previous corresponding quarter.

This was achieved on the back of RM2.9bil of revenue which was lower than RM3.4bil in the last quarter of 2012.

“The plantation profit decreased by 46% year-on-year to RM169.1mil for the quarter under review.

“The lower profit reported is due mainly to lower crude palm oil price (CPO) and palm kernel prices, but this was partly mitigated by higher fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production.

“Average CPO price realised for the quarter was RM2,314 per tonne compared with RM3,244 per tonne a year ago,” said the company in its filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

IOI property investment also recorded a lower earnings.

Meanwhile, IOI’s other businesses in the resource-based manufacturing and property development recorded a higher profit for the quarter.

On a bigger picture, IOI’s net profit soared to RM1.97bil for the full year ended June 30 (FY13) compared with RM1.79bil in FY12 due mainly to translation gain of RM191.4mil on foreign currency-denominated borrowings and higher contributions from all major segments other than plantation.

“The plantation segment reported a lower profit of RM1.08bil for the year under review compared with RM1.63bil for FY12.

“The lower profit is due mainly to lower CPO and palm kernel prices of which the average CPO price realised for year was RM2,433 per tonne compared with RM3,135 per tonne for 2012, despite a higher FFB production,” it said.

IOI’s resource-based manufacturing profit of RM603.5mil in FY13 was 110% higher than RM287.1mil in FY12.

“The higher profit of the segment is mainly due to higher margin from all the sub-segments as well as increase in sales volume from refinery and specialty fats sub-segments,” said IOI.

The property development segment’s profit also showed positive development recording RM637.7mil profit for FY13, reflecting 32% increase against FY12.

“The higher profit is due mainly to higher development revenue recognised in the financial period as well as increase in share of results from jointly controlled entities,” it said.

Property investment also saw higher profit of RM225.4mil for the year under review compared with RM220.1mil in FY12 due mainly to improvement in occupancy rates and rental yields, which however was offset by lower fair value gain of investment properties amounting to RM161.7mil.

On immediate prospects, IOI said palm oil prices were expected to stay at the prevailing level during the next few months.

“However, with the seasonally higher palm oil production from its plantation, the group’s plantation segment is expected to perform better during the next few months.

“In the resource-based manufacturing segment, the group’s oleochemicals business continues to perform well due to relatively low feed stock prices. The refinery and specialty fats businesses will also perform satisfactorily due to better competitive position as a result of the CPO export duty structure in Malaysia,” it said.

IOI said the Malaysian property market outlook was expected to remain positive especially in the landed property and mid-range condominium segments where the group has a strong presence.

IOI has also proposed a second single tier interim dividend of 85%, or 8.5 sen per share, with entitlement date set on Sept 9.