, backed by higher fresh fruit bunch growth and improving downstream utilisation, albeit partially offset by slightly higher crude palm oil unit costs.
This was considering the residual impact of El Nino in the second half of 2024 , especially in the northern regions, as well as its more aggressive replanting targets of 5,000ha to 6,000ha in 2024 and 2025.“Bearing this in mind, we raise our FFB growth assumption for FY24 to 7.3% from the initial 6%, while FY25 and FY26 are at 3% to 4% growth,” it stated.
RHB Research noted that the new refinery has been running since 2023 and produces higher quality oils, which was said to be marketed at a slight premium to normal products of around 5%. In FY23, the cost of production came in at roughly RM2,900 per tonne, which was higher by 9% y-o-y, excluding palm kernel credit.