TDM SEES HIGHER CROP OUTPUT
Planter adopting new palm oil estate design and increasing mechanisation to raise productivity
TDM Bhd expects to see higher crop output after adopting a new oil palm estate design under its replanting exercise. Under the new layout, it will become possible to increase the number of oil palm trees from between 110 and 112 trees per hectare to between 145 and 160 trees, a hike of over 30 per cent.
Group managing director Datuk Mohamat Muda said there would also be an increase in mechanisation in all its estates, which would raise productivity and efficiency in the long run.
“We have set a target of increasing the size of our oil palm plantation in Terengganu from 31,807ha to 52,000ha within the next five years,” he said after the group’s annual general meeting (AGM), here, yesterday.
TDM’s revenue for the first quarter of the year increased 17 per cent to RM113.9 million, while it recorded net profit of RM22.5 million, a turnaround from net loss of RM2.9 million in the same period previously.
Mohamat attributed TDM’s improved performance to its plantation division, which enjoyed higher selling prices of crude palm oil and palm kernels, as well as higher production volumes.
Revenue from the plantation division in the first quarter rose 38 per cent to RM69.3 million, compared with RM50.2 million in the same period last year.
In the healthcare division, revenue in the quarter was RM44.6 million, a slight decline from RM47.4 million a year before, due to a two per cent drop in the number of inpatients.
“We also incurred higher staff costs due to new regulatory requirements, which compelled us to increase the staff-to-bed ratio from 1:6 to 1:2,” he said, adding that the number of hospital beds would be increased from 297 to 1,000 within the next five years.
Meanwhile, at the AGM, shareholders approved the final dividend payment of 0.5 sen per share.
Shareholders also approved a one-for-10 bonus issue exercise at the company’s extraordinary general meeting later.