PETALING JAYA: IOI Corp Bhd reported a net profit of RM549mil in the third quarter ended March 31, a 15-fold increase from RM37.36mil in the previous corresponding period, as the stronger ringgit enabled the planter to book in unrealised currency gains of RM231.5mil on its US dollar-denominated borrowings.

The company told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that operating profit at its property and manufacturing divisions climbed, but its core plantation business was affected by lower palm oil production.

“The group's core results were within our expectation,” MIDF Research analyst Syed Mohammed Kifni said yesterday.

Last month, IOI Corp executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng said the group's fresh fruit bunches (FFB) output might drop 8% this year due to the freak weather pattern.

The company said yesterday that operating profit from its plantations was “in line” with the same period last year at RM282mil.

It said the “slightly lower” FFB production in the quarter just ended was “cushioned” by higher average crude palm oil price of RM2,480 per tonne from RM2,274 per tonne a year ago.

Meanwhile, the group's property arm saw a 76% jump in profit to RM124.7mil and earnings from its manufacturing division improved 17% to RM128.6mil.

The big boost came from the ringgit, as the currency's 6.8% appreciation against the US dollar so far this year lowered the cost of borrowing in foreign currency for local firms.

IOI Corp yesterday reported an unrealised translation gain of RM231.5mil on its US dollar-denominated debts during the quarter, as opposed to a RM232.4mil loss incurred in the same quarter last year when the ringgit fell.

Consensus estimate yesterday put IOI Corp's full-year ending June 30 (FY10) earnings at 29.7 sen per share. For the nine months just ended, IOI Corp's net profit stood at 24.37 sen per share.

Shares in IOI Corp closed unchanged yesterday at RM5.39 on volume of 2 million shares, while the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KL Composite Index dropped 7.62 points to 1,339.30.