UPDATE: New Britain Palm Oil Sees Prices Staying Buoyant
28 8월 2010 - 12:26AM
Dow Jones News
Palm oil producer New Britain Palm Oil Ltd. (NBPO.LN) Friday
reported a 13% fall in first-half profit, skewed by changes in the
accounting value of its trees, and said it expects prices for crude
palm oil to remain buoyant due to short-term jitters about food
supplies and rising consumption in the long term.
The company, which operates in Papua New Guinea, said its
average selling price during the first six months of the year was
$792 a metric ton, compared with $730 a year earlier.
However, prices recently spiked to $900 a ton due to concerns
about food shortages caused by poor wheat harvests in Russia and
Ukraine. There have also been concerns about supply shortages
caused by production problems in Indonesia, a major producer of
palm oil.
"Palm oil is in a very strong position," said New Britain Palm
Oil Executive Director Alan Chaytor.
He told Dow Jones Newswires demand for palm oil in the short
term is buoyant and the medium-term outlook appears firm.
He added longer-term demand for the commodity, which is used in
many food products, is expected to keep rising as food consumption
increases.
New Britain Palm Oil reported a pretax profit of $82.3 million
for the six months to June 30, compared with a profit of $94.8
million a year earlier. Revenue increased 27% to $205.4 million
following an increase in crude palm oil prices.
New Britain Palm Oil's earnings are affected by fluctuations in
the value of its biological assets--its trees. Excluding this,
pretax profit was $46.2 million, compared with $41.9 million a year
earlier.
Royal Bank of Scotland analysts said earnings were ahead of its
expectations. It rates the stock "buy."
New Britain Palm Oil added it expects to benefit from increasing
demand from food producers and consumers that palm oil be produced
from a sustainable source.
The company's oils are fully traceable now it has begun refining
operations at Liverpool in the U.K., it said. Customers include
McVitie's owner United Biscuits and cereal maker The Jordans and
Ryvita Co.
-By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272;
jason.douglas@dowjones.com
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