SIME Darby Bhd (4197) has doubled its second quarter net profit, driven mainly by higher crude palm oil (CPO) prices and good automotive sales- The conglomerate, which sells palm oil, cars, properties and heavy machines, among others, warned of a tough third quarter due to floods in Australia in January and February- Group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Bakke Salleh said floods have prevented the group from renting out its machinery, equipment and parts to the coal miners in Queensland- "It will be a difficult third quarter but it will not affect the whole year profitability and we still stick to our net profit forecast of RM2-5 billion for the whole financial year," Mohd Bakke told reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday- Net profit in the second quarter to December 31 2010 surged to RM877 million from RM428 million in the same quarter in 2009- Revenue also rose to RM10-2 billion from RM8-4 billion as almost all its main businesses did better- Sime had a good first half despite bad weather disruptions in Malaysian and Indonesian plantations- For the half-year period, the plantation division achieved an average CPO price of RM2,692 a tonne against RM2,222 a tonne in the corresponding period last year- The industrial division generated an operating profit of RM456 million, up 21 per cent from last year, largely due to stronger performance in Malaysia and China- The motors division continued its outstanding performance with an 87 per cent rise in operating profit to RM277 million on strong sales in China and Malaysia- BMW remained the biggest profit contributor and was the top-selling luxury marque in Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau for 2010- In Malaysia, profit growth was driven by the strong sales of Hyundai cars- Its property division recorded a 9-4 per cent increase in profit to RM121 million- Mohd Bakke said the group aimed to launch 15 new projects with a gross development value of about RM1-6 billion in the second half of 2011- ...

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