By Aidila Razak
Higher cost of imported rice caused Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) profits to nosedive despite a growth in revenue.
The nation’s sole rice distributor shed about a third of its profits before tax for the year ended Dec 31, 2012 from RM238.73 million to RM165.01 million, this despite revenue going up by about three percent to RM3.63 billion.
Net profit for the year is RM118.52 million, down from RM171.36 million the year before.
Announcing its results to Bursa Malaysia, it said that that profits took a hit because selling price remained constant, despite a rise in import costs.
The poor showing slashed earnings per share to 23.5 sen in 2012, a dip of more than 10 sen per share compared to the previous year.
However, it said that profits before tax in the quarter ended Dec 31 jumped 81 percent to RM46.5 million compared to the previous quarter.
“This is due to better margins from rice sales in this quarter compared to the third quarters of 2012,” it said in its explanatory notes.
It expects “satisfactory” performance for 2013, depending among others on the monsoon in Pakistan and India.
“A good monsoon will mean India and Pakistan will likely experience good harvest and prices will generally remain soft. A late or lower rainfall will mean otherwise,” it said.
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