First Resources Ltd. shares rose sharply Wednesday after the Singapore-listed company’s 2022 net profit doubled, mainly owing to higher average selling prices of palm oil.
The shares were recently 5.8% higher at 1.63 Singapore dollars (US$1.21) after earlier rising as much as 7.1% to S$1.65, its highest intraday level since the end of November 2022, according to FactSet.
The palm oil producer said Wednesday before trading hours that its 2022 net profit jumped to US$325.2 million from US$161.1 million in 2021. Its revenue rose to US$1.23 billion in 2022 from US$1.03 billion in 2021.
“Palm oil prices touched new highs in the first half of 2022, owing to the tightening of global vegetable oil supplies from the Russia-Ukraine war and Indonesia’s temporary export ban,” said Ciliandra Fangiono, chief executive officer of First Resources, in a statement.
While crude palm oil prices have since moderated after the lifting of the export ban in mid-2022, the Indonesian government’s ongoing measures to ensure the affordability and sufficiency of cooking oil within the country has continued to restrict the availability of global palm oil supplies in recent months, Mr. Fangiono said.
First Resources remains “cautiously optimistic” that its performance for this year will stay strong compared with historical levels, although the company anticipates its average selling prices and profitability will moderate in the near term owing to the high-base effect from the record-high palm oil prices posted in 2022, Mr. Fangiono added.