Olam Group has reported earnings of $230.8 million for its 2HFY2023 ended December, up 15.5% y-o-y.
This follows ebit growth and lower exceptional losses, even after accounting for higher net finance costs and lower contribution from Olam Agri following its 34.5% stake stale to Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment.
Revenue for the period declined by 10.8% y-o-y to $23.6 billion as lower prices across several products in the portfolio offset sales volume growth.
Ebit grew 19.3% y-o-y to $952.3 million with strong growth at both ofi and Olam Agri.
For FY2023, Olam’s earnings declined by 55.7% y-o-y to $278.7 million as the double digit ebit growth was offset by a full year impact of higher interest rates, lower contribution from Olam Agri following the stake sale and higher exceptional losses.
Revenue for the full year decreased by 12.1% y-o-y to $48.3 billion.
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Ebit for FY2023 rose 10.1% to $1.8 billion on double-digit growth by both Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) and Olam Agri. The latter contributed 54.6% of the group’s total ebit, while OFI and its remaining businesses contributed 46.8% and negative 1.4% respectively.
As at Dec 31, 2023, Olam’s cash and cash equivalents stood at $574 million. Earnings per share for 2HFY2023 and FY2023 stood at 5.67 cents and 6.50 cents respectively.
The board has recommended a final dividend of 4 cents per share, taking the full year dividend to 7 cents per share, compared to FY2022’s 8.5 cents.
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Olam CEO Sunny Verghese says the company is launching a share buyback programme up to a maximum of 5% of its outstanding shares within its current mandate and renewal of the mandate at the upcoming annual general meeting in April.
The company also remains committed to pursuing the listings of both OFI and Olam Agri. The latter will not take place in 1H2024 as the regulatory framework is still being finalised.
Verghese also addresses the concern following allegations about its Nigerian operations. He reiterates that the independent internal investigation team found no evidence supporting any specific allegations. “In the meanwhile, all our businesses in Nigeria have been operating normally and we look forward to continuing investing and growing in the country.”
Shares in Olam closed 3 cents down or 3.22% lower on Feb 17 at 90 cents.
