KUCHING: WTK Holdings Bhd has reported impressive production volumes of crude palm oil (CPO), fresh fruit bunches (FFB) and palm kernel in the July-September 2023 quarter (3Q2023) from a year ago.
In the current quarter under review, CPO output soared by 261 per cent to 16,139 tonnes (3Q2022: 4,472 tonnes). FFB production volume surged by 83 per cent to 60,076 tonnes (32,838 tonnes) and PK output skyrocketed by 279 per cent to 3,755 tonnes (992 tonnes), according to production figures WTK filed with Bursa Malaysia.
In September 2023, the company produced 5,204 tonnes of CPO, 19,831 tonnes of FFB and 1,213 tonnes of PK.
The production figures were also significantly higher as compared to the immediate preceding quarter of 2Q2023. The CPO output climbed 57 per cent from 10,297 tonnes (2Q2023), FFB volume rose 49 per cent from 40,204 tonnes and PK volume expanded by 62 per cent from 2,312 tonnes.
In the first nine months of 20233 (9M2023), WTK recorded strong CPO production volume which increased by 140 per cent to 29,726 tonnes (9M2022: 12,381 tonnes), FFB volume jumped 49 per cent to 122,650 tonnes (82,229 tonnes) while PK volume soared 147 per cent to 6,804 tonnes (2,759 tonnes).
The increase in the production volume of CPO, FFB and PK is in tandem with WTK’s expansion of oil palm plantation size following the completion of acquisition of the entire equity in B.H.B. Sdn Bhd for RM237.5 million and a palm oil mill for RM12.5 million on May 8, 2023.
B.H.B. has total planted area of about 4,218 hectares, out of which 2,820 hectares are young mature (4-8 years), 1,025 hectares are prime mature (9-14 years) and 373 hectares are old (19-25 years)
The acquisition of B.H.B. boosted WTK group’s total planted area to 16,429 hectares, comprising young mature (6,729 hectares) prime mature (8,518 hectares), mature (15-18 years) (802 hectares) and old (373 hectares).
WTK group is also into logging business, with log production of 54,832 cubic metres (cu m) in 3Q2023, an increase of 13 per cent from 48,597 cu m in 3Q2022.
However, the production volume was 12 per cent lower as compared to 2Q2023 when the group harvested 62,176 cu m of logs.
In 9M2023, the group’s log production rose 16 per cent to 162,120 cu m from 140,341 cu m in 9M2022.
In an unrelated corporate development, Hubline Bhd’s subsidiary Highline Shipping Sdn Bhd has mopped up more shares in Pansar Bhd by acquiring an additional 933,000 shares in the open market last week.
Highline acquired 483,000 Pansar shares on Oct 11 and 450,000 shares on Oct 13, bringing its total equity interest in Pansar to 30,674,400 units or 6.531 per cent.
