Olam Group, a leading Singapore-based commodities trader, announced a slight increase in its first-half profit, with earnings rising by 0.2% to S$48 million ($36.5 million) for the period of January to June, compared to S$47.9 million a year earlier. This marginal growth came despite a notable revenue increase of 9.1%, which reached S$26.9 billion, driven by higher volumes and selling prices in its food ingredient business, where revenue surged by 24.9%. The agricultural segment also saw a revenue increase of 2.7%.
However, Olam faced significant challenges as costs soared by 36%, which heavily impacted its profitability. As a result, the company’s shares dropped as much as 8.1% during trading before recovering slightly, ultimately closing down 5.7% at S$1.16.