29/05/2013 (Reuters) - Kenanga Research raised its call on oil palm agribusiness firm IJM Plantations Bhd to "outperform" from "market perform" on a bright earnings outlook despite softening crude palm oil prices.

IJM's core net profit jumped 16 percent on year in the fourth quarter ended March 31, thanks to the company's cost-cutting efforts and strong fresh fruit bunches growth, Kenanga said in a note on Wednesday.

"(IJM's) 1Q14 outlook is positive as its fresh fruit bunches production has grown 49 percent y-o-y to 50,749 metric tonnes in April 2013," Kenanga said.

"Its high fresh fruit bunches growth should outpace the 25 percent decline in crude palm oil prices and allow IJM to register a year-on-year earnings growth."

The research house kept its 3.38 ringgit per share target price.

Shares in IJM Plantations climbed 5 percent, outperforming the Malaysian benchmark stock index which gained 0.35 percent.