By Amanda Lee
Wilmar International is scheduled to report 2023 results on Wednesday. Here is what you need to know:
NET PROFIT FORECAST: The Singapore-listed agribusiness company is expected to post full-year net profit of $1.28 billion, according to a FactSet-compiled median consensus of analysts' estimates, amid challenges in its China operations and the palm oil-refining business. That would compare with net profit of $2.40 billion in 2022.
REVENUE FORECAST: Wilmar's revenue is estimated at $68.82 billion, according to FactSet, down from $73.40 billion in 2022.
The stock fell 4.3% in the fourth quarter. It was 0.3% lower at 3.24 Singapore dollars in Tuesday afternoon trading.
WHAT TO WATCH:
--Nomura research analyst Raghavendra Divekar said in a note that Wilmar likely benefited from several tailwinds in the final quarter of the year, including sales volume growth in China, which contributed about 51% of the company's revenue in 2022. The company said in its third-quarter results that operating conditions in China had improved and would likely remain positive for the rest of the year.
--Investors will be watching for developments after Shenzhen-listed subsidiary Yihai Kerry Arawana, Wilmar's largest profit contributor, in January denied allegations that one of its units was involved in an alleged China palm-oil fraud. UOB Kay Hian analysts Leow Huey Chuen and Jacquelyn Yow Hui Li said last month that they expect short-term negative sentiment due to the allegations. "If Wilmar is definitively cleared from any association with the China palm oil fraud, we anticipate a favorable trajectory for the company's share price," they wrote in a research note.
Write to Amanda Lee at amanda.lee@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 20, 2024 03:56 ET (08:56 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments