KUALA LUMPUR (July 22): Cepatwawasan Group Bhd saw a more than five-fold jump in second quarter net profit to RM4.46 million, from RM699,000 a year ago, on higher selling prices of palm oil products and lower production cost.

Earnings per share for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 jumped to 1.44 sen from 0.23 sen previously, the group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

The plantation group reported increases in average selling prices of crude palm oil, palm kernel oil and empty fruit bunches oil of 17%, 25% and 38% respectively during the quarter.

Quarterly revenue fell marginally by 2% to RM51.78 million from RM52.67 million in the previous corresponding quarter.

Cepatwawasan said its plantation segment profit increased by RM1.96 million from a loss of 170,000 a year ago mainly due to an increase in average selling price of fresh fruit bunches by 19% and a lower production cost.

The oil mill segment, meanwhile, saw profit jumping to RM3.3 million from RM1.41 million thanks to a favourable oil extraction rate margin and lower mill maintenance cost.

The power plant segment, however, saw a 53% decrease in profit to RM1.03 million from RM2.21 million mainly due to a 31% drop in sales of electricity.

For the first half of the financial year, Cepatwawasan reported a higher net profit of RM3.66 million from RM3.14 million as revenue fell 9% to RM95.97 million from RM105.07 million.

The group said the decrease in revenue was mainly due to a one-off recognition of construction income of RM3.31 million in its power plant segment in the previous corresponding period.

“The recognition of this construction income has, however, no material impact on the group’s profit due to a corresponding recognition of construction cost of RM3.08 million in the same period,” it added.

Cepatwawasan said palm oil prices have seen some recovery recently since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic due to ongoing restocking activities and recovery growth in China.

“However the Covid-19 pandemic continues to exert its negative impact on palm oil demand and prices. Notwithstanding this challenging economic outlook, the group remains prudent and focused on enhancing its operational efficiency.

“The group anticipates a better performance for the remaining period of the year with additional replanted areas coming into maturity,” it added.

At 3.50pm, Cepatwawasan was up 6 sen or 13.13% at 56 sen, with a market capitalisation of RM178.33 million.