Palm oil comes to the rescue of Watawala Plantations in the 9mths to Dec 2014
View(s):Palm oil came to the rescue of Watawala Plantations PLC has reported revenues of Rs. 5.3 billion for the nine months ended 31 December 2014.
Net profit or PAT for the same period amounted to Rs. 409 million against Rs. 311 million in the same period last year. The company said in a media release that it was able to post strong bottom line performance in a challenging environment for the planttion sector due to better than expected performance in palm oil.Profit for the 3rd quarter (3QFY15) amounted to Rs. 147 million down 30.9 per cent due to challenges in the tea sector which was adversely affected by heavy rains. Palm oil contributed Rs. 593 million to the group’s bottom line in the 9-month period which helped the company to cover its losses in the tea and rubber sectors.”Overall, WATA (Watawala) posted strong results for 9MFY15, mainly driven by palm oil. We expect the palm oil segment to continue its strong performance in 4QFY15. We are mindful of the demand side issues with buying at the auctions slowing down due to issues in key Ceylon tea markets in CIS and the Middle East. With our long term agri practices in place, we are reasonably confident that we will overcome the difficult environment expected for the rest of the year,” the company said.