KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 26): Hap Seng Plantations Holdings Bhd's (KL:HSPLANT) net profit doubled from a year earlier thanks to higher sales volumes and prices of crude palm oil (CPO).

Net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2026 (2QFY2026) rose to RM39.32 million from RM19.66 million, the Sabah-based company said in a bourse filing. Revenue increased 29.2% to RM201.73 million from RM156.11 million.

Earnings per share rose to 4.92 sen from 2.46 sen in 2QFY2025.

The average selling price of CPO rose 16.9% to RM4,630 per tonne from RM4,260, while palm kernel prices increased 7.3% to RM3,723 per tonne from RM3,471.

Hap Seng Plantations said CPO and palm kernel production in the quarter was marginally lower due to a reduction in fresh fruit bunches (FFB) purchased and lower FFB output, affected by seasonal yield trends and cropping pattern changes.

However, higher extraction rates helped offset the decline. As a result, the CPO sales volume rose 23% to 37,388 tonnes, while palm kernel sales volume edged up to 6,847 tonnes, mainly due to delivery timing.

The company declared a dividend of two sen per share, payable on Sept 23.

For the first six months of FY2026, Hap Seng Plantations’ net profit rose 16.9% to RM49.29 million from RM42.15 million a year earlier, while revenue increased 17.5% to RM394.17 million from RM335.53 million. Cumulative earnings per share rose to 6.16 sen from 5.27 sen.

The company said it changed the way it values biological assets starting January 2026, resulting in a one-time loss from fair value adjustments of RM29 million before tax and RM22 million after tax. Excluding this adjustment, it said the profit after tax would have been 69% higher than the previous year.

Looking ahead, Hap Seng Plantations expects the second half of the year to remain influenced by palm oil production levels, commodity price movements and uncertainties in the global economic environment.

It expects CPO prices to remain resilient, supported by elevated crude oil prices amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, higher biodiesel mandates in Indonesia and Malaysia, and palm oil’s price discount against competing edible oils.

Hap Seng Plantations’ share price closed two sen or 0.79% higher at RM2.54 on Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM2.03 billion.