19/02/2016 (Bernama) - Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) led the top gainers in the early session today after reporting stronger earnings for its first quarter ended Dec 31, 2015.

As at 10.17 am, KLK's shares soared 46 sen to RM24.12 with 610,600 units transacted.

The plantation company's pre-tax profit soared to RM911.09 million from RM294.34 million in the same period a year earlier on the back of a large surplus on plantation land sale to an associate.

Revenue jumped to RM4.337 billion from RM3.114 billion previously.

Affin Hwang Capital said excluding the gains as well as forex loss and other one-off items, KLK's first quarter core net profit of RM261.2 million was 21.2 per cent of its forecast for financial year ending Dec 31, 2016.

"KLK's performance is still within our expectation considering the better crude palm oil selling prices due to prospects of lower quarterly production over the next nine months," it said in a research note today.

Affin Hwang Capital maintained its "hold" rating for KLK with a higher target price of RM22.39.