KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Bhd, which saw its net profit decline by 47% to RM437.4mil for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, will defer the listing of its automotive arm to the second half of this year.
“Our intention is to achieve the best valuation. As such, when the external landscape is not conducive, it would not be advisable to put the company on a listing mode,” said president and group chief executive Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh after announcing Sime Darby’s second-quarter financial results yesterday.
It was reported earlier that the group wanted to list its automotive arm, which distributes BMW, Ford and Hyundai vehicles, in the first half of 2015.
The world’s top oil palm plantation company by land size attributed the decline in its net profit to the lower average crude palm oil (CPO) price of RM2,123 per tonne for the quarter compared with RM2,416 per tonne in the second quarter a year ago.
“Fresh fruit bunches (FFB) yield fell by 12% year-on-year in the second quarter of this year due to a change in crop pattern driven by severe weather condition.
“The continuous rain followed by severe floods also disrupted harvesting activities in the estates in Pahang, Johor and Sarawak,” Bakke said.
The group’s revenue shed 3% to RM10.74bil from RM10.71bil in the preceding year.
Its basic earnings per share fell 7.21 sen in the quarter from 13.61 sen previously. Sime Darby shares closed 13 sen lower at RM9.37 yesterday.
The group declared a six sen dividend per share.
