SIBU: Upbeat about the long-term prospects of the oil palm industry, Jaya Tiasa Holdings Bhd is investing RM70 million in its fourth crude palm oil (CPO) mill.
It currently has two on stream, with a combined processing capacity of 150 metric tonnes per hour, while another mill, capable of processing 120 metric tonnes per hour, will be commissioned towards the end of this year, chairman Jen. (Rtd.) Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid said.
Speaking at the company’s 54th annual general meeting here yesterday for its financial year ending June 30, 2014, he said the two mills had so far produced about 69,000 metric tonnes of CPO and 11,000 metric tonnes of palm kernel.
For the year under review, the group’s estimated plantable area stood at 69,873 hectares spread over 10 plantations in the state, he said.
“Of these, 94 per cent (65,681 hectares) are fully planted.
“With 84 per cent (or 55,438 hectares) having matured, our fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production for the year had increased by 15 per cent to 766.469 metric tonnes from the 666,899 metric tonnes previously,” he said.
He said the average age of the trees was relatively low with only 23 per cent of planted areas (14,918 hectares) in their prime.
Abdul Hamid added the group’s oil palm business had achieved a marked turnaround to record a pre-tax profit of around RM33 million compared to the RM2 million pre-tax loss last year.
Its timber division contributed 69 per cent and 62 per cent to the group’s revenue and profit before tax respectively.
Jaya Tiasa, which has one of the largest timber assets among Malaysian listed companies, also currently manages a total of 235,859 hectares of reforestation area.
“We are planting fast-growing tree species such as Eucalyptus deglupta (kamarere), Eucalptus pellita and Kelampayan across the plantation areas which are expanding and will continue to trend up steadily,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the next financial year would continue to be a profitable year for the timber division.
On its 2014 financial year, Abdul Hamid said Jaya Tiasa had posted a strong set of results.
“We closed the year with a revenue of RM 1,033 million, a slight two per cent drop from last year due to lower sales volume for our timber products.
“Nonetheless, pre-tax profit grew by 156 per cent to RM80 million and net profit was RM56 million, a 150 per cent increase due to positive contributions from the oil palm division and log sales.
“Earnings per share rose to 5.49 sen from the 2.18 sen recorded last financial year,” he said.
— Bernama