The market appears to like oil palm producer First Resources Ltd’s (SGX: EB5) latest earnings update, released on 13 August 2018. Since then, First Resources’ share price has increased by 2.6% while the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) – Singapore’s stock market benchmark – has fallen by 0.8%. Let’s look at both the negatives as well as positives found in First Resources’ 2018 second quarter results. The positives Firstly, First Resources’ revenue showed strong growth of 34.5% year-on-year to US$181.0 million. This ultimately led to a 55.2% jump in net profit to US$35.9 million. Secondly, operational metrics for First Resources came in stronger in the reporting quarter, with fresh fruit bunches (FFB) harvested up 28.7% year-on-year to 789,588 tonnes, and the crude palm o

Major Singapore plantations, namely Wilmar International, First Resources and Bumitama Agri posted stronger than expected results for 2Q18. The main attributes for the stronger results were the higher downstream margins and higher external fruit intake. This is in contrast with their peers which experienced weaker downstream margins. The strong performance seen in 2Q18 is expected to continue into 3Q18 as the fresh fruit bunches (FFB) yield begins to improve. Companies with downstream exposure are expected to perform better on the back of higher utilisation rate, better pricing power for refiners and higher biodiesel sales volume. Bumitama Agri Bumitama Agri (Bumitama) announced its 2Q18 results with its net profit came in within expectations at IDR388.06 billion. This was supported by str

First Resources Ltd (SGX: EB5) is an integrated palm oil producer, managing more than 200,000 hectares of oil palm plantations across the Riau, East Kalimantan and West Kalimantan provinces of Indonesia. It organises its business into three segments: Crude Palm Oil, Palm Kernel, and Refinery and Processing. At the current price of S$1.58 (at the time of writing), First Resources’ shares are 16% down since January this year. This raises a question: Is First Resources cheap now? This question is important because if the firm’s shares are cheap, it might be a good opportunity for investors. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. However, we can still get some insights by comparing First Resources’ current valuations with the market’s valuation. The three valuation metrics I will foc

An attractive stock is one with strong fundamentals sweetened by undemanding valuation that are compelling enough for investors. Here are two stocks touted to be worth accumulating at their current share price. SATS SATS is a long-term play for investors who are interested in investing in the aviation industry. As Changi Airport continues to see higher passenger throughput rates, SATS is one of the major beneficiaries as it handles about 80 percent of the traffic throughput in the airport. Further, with the opening of the fourth terminal (T4), Changi is expected to see higher traffic which means higher profitability for SATS which is handling operations at the new terminal through a joint venture with AirAsia. In the long run, SATS has chosen to diversify into different industry such as p