Haze-linked First Resources, Bumitama post higher profits for Q3

Detailed summary

The companies expect demand for palm oil to remain supported in the coming year

The companies expect demand for palm oil to remain supported in the coming year

[SINGAPORE] Two palm oil companies linked to the transboundary haze in October reported higher profits for the third quarter ended Sep 30, 2026, in separate business updates published on Friday (Nov 13) morning.

Palm oil producer First Resources posted a 40.1 per cent rise in its underlying net profit to US$122.7 million for the third quarter ended Sep 30, from US$87.5 million a year ago.

The increase was boosted by higher sales of palm oil products and fruit bunches harvested from oil palm plants, it said.

Sales was up 24.9 per cent to US$578.6 million for the quarter, compared with US$463.3 million a year ago.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, or Ebitda, rose 26.6 per cent to US$207.4 million for the period, up from US$163.8 million a year ago.

For the nine months ended Sep 30, 2026, sales grew 36.5 per cent year on year to US$1.6 billion on the back of higher sales volume.

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A net inventory drawdown of 28,000 tonnes over the nine-month period, compared with a build-up of 80,000 tonnes in the corresponding period last year, also supported higher sale volume.

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