KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 5): Genting Plantations Bhd is open to opportunities to expand its oil palm plantation land bank to further grow the company’s earnings at a time when the Malaysian plantation sector and global economy are contending with the impact of Covid-19-driven movement restrictions to curb the pandemic.
In an emailed response to queries from theedgemarkets.com, Genting Plantations representative Anne Sharon Then said the company "is open to opportunities to further expand our land bank and should any opportunities materialise, Genting Plantations will make the necessary disclosure in accordance with the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd”.
Then did not elaborate.
She was responding to queries on speculation regarding Genting Plantations’ merger and acquisition (M&A) plans after news reports, quoting Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd, reported yesterday that M&A opportunities for Genting Plantations are on the cards as the company gets proposals from time to time.
"Given that the group (Genting Plantations) is sitting on a still-growing war chest of about RM800 million, we think M&A opportunities to boost planted area and production growth could be found.
"We think the group is more likely to be interested in estates in Kalimantan, where its Indonesian estates are concentrated,” Kenanga was quoted as saying by Bernama.
According to Genting Plantations’ website, the company has oil palm plantation operations across Malaysia within the states of Kedah, Melaka, Johor and Sabah.
In Indonesia, Genting Plantations undertakes oil palm plantation operations across the West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan provinces, according to the company.
"From a modest 13,700 hectares in 1980, Genting Plantations’ land bank has since grown by leaps and bounds to 243,500 hectares currently, spread over Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Indonesia. Genting Plantations endeavours to be a leader not only in size, but also in terms of high efficiency and productivity.
"Consistently achieving yields above the industry average, Genting Plantations has also earned wide recognition among peers as one of the lowest-cost producers. Genting Plantations currently owns 11 oil mills — one in Peninsular Malaysia, six in Sabah and four in Indonesia — with a combined capacity of 665 metric tons per hour,” the company claimed.
Meanwhile, CGS-CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd analysts Ivy Ng Lee Fang and Nagulan Ravi wrote in a note today that CGS-CIMB likes Genting Plantations for its rich land bank and young estates.
"The group has one of the youngest estate age profiles among its big-cap peers in Malaysia,” Ng and Ravi said, adding that CGS-CIMB had an "add" call for Genting Plantations shares with a target price (TP) of RM10.40.
At Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB), analyst Chye Wen Fei in a Malaysian plantation sector note today maintained HLIB's "neutral" call for the local industry as near-term share price sentiment on plantation companies will likely remain weak on the back of lingering environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns.
Chye, however, did not specify in the note what the ESG concerns are for the local plantation sector.
On Genting Plantations, the analyst said HLIB had a TP of RM8.61 for the stock with a "hold" call.
At Bursa’s 12.30pm break today, Genting Plantations' share price settled down two sen or 0.31% at RM6.51, giving it a market value of about RM5.84 billion.
The company has 897.2 million issued shares.