ID :
20007
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 19:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/20007
The shortlink copeid
SIME DARBY STILL UPBEAT OVER GROWTH IN EUROPEAN MARKET ByTengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah
BRUSSELS, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- Despite expecting to face challenging times in the future, Sime Darby is still upbeat about its growth in the European market.
This is particularly so with its palm oil downstream activities in the continent,said the managing director of Sime Darby Plantations Sdn Bhd, Azhar Abdul Hamid.
Being the world's largest listed palm-oil producer, the company manages its downstream activities in Europe from Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
"However, in terms of activity at present, the volume is not that significant," he told Bernama here.
Asked if there were plans to increase the export volume, he said: "It is difficult to say due to the market sentiment pertaining to CPO prices today."
The palm oil price has seen a slight technical correction of late following the drop in global crude oil prices.
But Azhar said the company was still positive about Europe, adding that there were a lot of things that could be done for the benefit of both.
He was part of the Joint Ministerial Mission to Europe - namely to the
Hague,Brussels and London - led by the Minister of Plantation Industries and
Commodities, Peter Chin Fah Kui.
The nine-day mission, starting Sept 7, was co-organised by the Malaysian
Palm Oil Council(MPOC)and the Malaysian Timber Council(MTC)in an effort to
address various issues pertaining to Malaysian palm oil and timber with relevant
European stakeholders.
As part of the mission, the World Sustainable Palm Oil Conference
was
held in London on Sept 15 as an international platform, for an exchange of views
on the production and use of sustainable plam oil.
According to Azhar, this was the first time in a long while that the
company had joined such a mission.
"Our main concern is the issue of the sustainability of palm oil and how
the European Union (EU)is handling it.We want to ensure that the interest of
palm oil is protected as far as EU directives are concerned.
"We thus joined the mission to basically keep in touch with the
initiatives," he said.
He commended the efforts of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council ( MPOC), the
Malaysian Timber Council (MTC)and the Minister for having organised the mission.
On the merger activities in Sime Darby, he said:"We are well into it and
trying to keep up with the activities in line with the acquisitions.
"We have met our synergy target for the first financial year and are now
focusing on the second. Obviously, it is going to be extra challenging now with
the way CPO prices are moving."
Sime Darby Berhad registered a 46 percent increase in pre-tax profits
for the financial year ended June 30,2008.This pushed the group's pre-tax profit
to a record high of RM5.2 billion.
The group's robust showing was mainly due to the strong performance
of
its plantation division which registered a 139 percent increase in operating
profit to RM3.9 billion during the year.
The sterling performance of the division was the result of better yields,
merger synergies and strong CPO prices.
During the financial year, Sime Darby realised RM210 million in merger
synergies in the plantation and property businesses.
The group has now achieved almost half of the RM400-500 million in earnings
before interest and tax (EBIT) synergies, targeted for the financial year
2009/2010.
This is particularly so with its palm oil downstream activities in the continent,said the managing director of Sime Darby Plantations Sdn Bhd, Azhar Abdul Hamid.
Being the world's largest listed palm-oil producer, the company manages its downstream activities in Europe from Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
"However, in terms of activity at present, the volume is not that significant," he told Bernama here.
Asked if there were plans to increase the export volume, he said: "It is difficult to say due to the market sentiment pertaining to CPO prices today."
The palm oil price has seen a slight technical correction of late following the drop in global crude oil prices.
But Azhar said the company was still positive about Europe, adding that there were a lot of things that could be done for the benefit of both.
He was part of the Joint Ministerial Mission to Europe - namely to the
Hague,Brussels and London - led by the Minister of Plantation Industries and
Commodities, Peter Chin Fah Kui.
The nine-day mission, starting Sept 7, was co-organised by the Malaysian
Palm Oil Council(MPOC)and the Malaysian Timber Council(MTC)in an effort to
address various issues pertaining to Malaysian palm oil and timber with relevant
European stakeholders.
As part of the mission, the World Sustainable Palm Oil Conference
was
held in London on Sept 15 as an international platform, for an exchange of views
on the production and use of sustainable plam oil.
According to Azhar, this was the first time in a long while that the
company had joined such a mission.
"Our main concern is the issue of the sustainability of palm oil and how
the European Union (EU)is handling it.We want to ensure that the interest of
palm oil is protected as far as EU directives are concerned.
"We thus joined the mission to basically keep in touch with the
initiatives," he said.
He commended the efforts of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council ( MPOC), the
Malaysian Timber Council (MTC)and the Minister for having organised the mission.
On the merger activities in Sime Darby, he said:"We are well into it and
trying to keep up with the activities in line with the acquisitions.
"We have met our synergy target for the first financial year and are now
focusing on the second. Obviously, it is going to be extra challenging now with
the way CPO prices are moving."
Sime Darby Berhad registered a 46 percent increase in pre-tax profits
for the financial year ended June 30,2008.This pushed the group's pre-tax profit
to a record high of RM5.2 billion.
The group's robust showing was mainly due to the strong performance
of
its plantation division which registered a 139 percent increase in operating
profit to RM3.9 billion during the year.
The sterling performance of the division was the result of better yields,
merger synergies and strong CPO prices.
During the financial year, Sime Darby realised RM210 million in merger
synergies in the plantation and property businesses.
The group has now achieved almost half of the RM400-500 million in earnings
before interest and tax (EBIT) synergies, targeted for the financial year
2009/2010.
