HIT by high costs and falling crude palm oil (CPO) prices, and digesting a big RM750 million land acquisition, Boustead Plantations Bhd sank to a historic loss in the financial year just ended. The group tells The Edge that it expects CPO prices to recover, production costs to ease and productivity to improve. To recap, Boustead Plantations posted a net loss of RM51.78 million for the 2018 financial year ended Dec 31 (FY2018), its first full-year loss since listing in 1973. Maybank Research estimated that the planter’s all-in production costs came to RM2,510 per tonne last year. Slated for completion by 1QFY2019, the group expects RM122 million in proceeds, which should see the return of dividends.

Source: The Edge Markets March 20, 2019 09:00 UTC