PLS Plantations Bhd announced its full-year financial results with the group slipping into a net loss of RM32.7 million compared to a net profit of RM27.3 million in the previous financial year. The group said it was mainly due to the one-off provisions where a significant portion of these provisions was attributed to the downstream segment.
This further highlights that the previous strategy of direct selling to China, primarily through exports, encountered challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic played a pivotal role in slowing down sales, making these impairments necessary. The impairments and write-offs (including impairment of inventories), totalling RM26.7 million, were largely linked to the acquisition of its subsidiary, Dulai Fruit Enterprise Sdn Bhd, and to adjustments in trade receivables, inventories and bearer plants. Excluding the aforesaid one-off provisions, PLS Plantations would have reported a net loss of RM9.1 million in FY2023, mainly due to the lower sales in oil palm divisions.
PLS Plantations Bhd Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Lee Hun Kheng said, “We’ve recognised due to covid pandemic ripple effects, our direct selling strategy to China was not yielding the expected outcomes. Hence, PLS Plantations has set its sights on refining its approach to the Chinese market. The Group is recalibrating to form collaborations with renowned players in China’s wholesale and retail sectors instead of the earlier direct selling strategy”.
