(Reuters) -Singapore-based commodities trader Olam Group on Wednesday posted a marginal rise in first-half profit as a jump in revenue was almost completely overshadowed by higher costs.
Olam, among the world’s biggest agricultural commodity traders, said profit attributable rose 0.2% to S$48 million ($36.5 million) in January-June from S$47.9 million a year ago.
The firm’s revenue for the period rose 9.1% to S$26.9 billion, helped by higher volumes and selling prices in its food ingredient business.
The segment’s revenue jumped 24.9%, while revenue in its agricultural business grew 2.7%.
A 36% jump in costs, however, squeezed Olam’s bottomline.
Its shares fell as much as 8.1% earlier in the day, before partially recovering to trade down 5.7% at S$1.16. ($1 = 1.3167 Singapore dollars)
(Reporting by Roushni Nair and Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Sonali Paul and Sonia Cheema)
