Ta Ann's 1QFY25 hurt by timber losses

Borneo Post

23-05-2025

Ta Ann's 1QFY25 FFB production rose 7.6 per cent per cent y-o-y to 136,800MT. Overhead extraction rate (OER) fell from 19.67 per cent to 19.26 per cent.
KUCHING (May 23): Excluding net realised forex gains and minority interests, Ta Ann Holdings Bhd (Ta Ann) kicked off its first quarter of financial year 2025 (1QFY25) with a core profit of RM40 million.
The results, down by 4.3 per cent year on year (y-o-y), were slightly below Public Investment Bank Bhd's (PublicInvest Research) expectations, but were within the street's expectations, making up 19 and 22 per cent, respectively.
The weaker earnings, down RM41.8 million to RM40 million, were mainly dragged by the timber losses, as it reported a fourth straight quarterly loss of RM5.2 million.
'Sales increased from RM352 million to RM407 million, attributed to higher plantation sales but partially offset by weaker timber sales,' it analysed in its notes.
'Timber revenue tumbled 52 per cent y-o-y to RM28.6 million as log sales sank 53 per cent y-o-y to RM7.5 million while plywood sales nearly halved to RM21.7 million, as bad weather had affected logging activities.
Notably, 1QFY25 average log export price enhanced from US$223 per cubic metre (cu m) to US$225 per cu m while plywood price dropped from US$530 per cu m to US$471.
Log and plywood export volume tumbled 50.4 and 49.1 per cent, respectively.
On the other hand, palm oil sales increased by 29.2 per cent y-o-y to RM377.7 million. 1QFY25 average CPO price surged from RM3,884 per metric tonne (MT) to RM4,825.
Meanwhile, Ta Ann's 1QFY25 FFB production rose 7.6 per cent per cent y-o-y to 136,800MT. Overhead extraction rate (OER) fell from 19.67 per cent to 19.26 per cent.
Meanwhile, earnings contributions from its subsidiary, Sarawak Plantation Bhd, and joint venture-owned refinery rose 15.5 per cent y-o-y to RM7.6 million.
The heavy rainfall in the first two months had affected logging and palm oil activities, PublicInvest Research said. as FFB production was 20 per cent below expectation.
'For FY25, management targets FFB production growth of 16 per cent y-o-y to 770,000MT based on FFB yield of 18MT per ha.
'This year, it plans to replant another 3,000ha. Fertiliser application has reached 25 per cent of the full-year target. Meanwhile, it also targets log production of 180,000 cu m, with 94 per cent coming from natural forest.
'Despite lower log supplies, plywood production is expected to increase from 51,000 cu m to 72,000 cu m, led by increased third-party purchases. The demand for logs remains steady in India, while there is an urgent demand for plywood due to Japan's current low inventory level.
'The company has no forward sales policy in place, hence, we expect the realised CPO prices for the coming quarters to reflect the prevailing level of less than RM4,000 per MT.
'Lastly, management plans to allocate capex of RM56 million for FY25, with RM45 million allocated for plantation and RM11 million for timber, respectively.' financial year first quarter ta ann