23/02/2012 (Fox Business) - Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (2445.KU), Malaysia's third-largest listed plantation company by land size, said Wednesday its first quarter net profit rose 12% helped by higher crude palm oil prices.

Net profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose to MYR341.0 million, compared with MYR304.2 million a year earlier. Revenue for the period rose 21% to MYR2.92 billion from MYR2.42 billion.

"With our crude palm products prices reasonably hedged by forward sales and the expectation of higher FFB production, the group anticipates good plantations profit for the current financial year," the company said in an exchange filing with Bursa Malaysia.

The company said that during the first quarter it sold crude palm oil at an average price of MYR2,753 a ton, compared with MYR2,678 a ton in the year earlier quarter.