March 25 2005 - GOLDEN Hope Plantations Bhd is expected to perform betterin 2005 compared with last year on the back of firm crude palm oil (CPO)prices.

For the first six months ended December 2004, Golden Hope’s net profitmore than doubled to RM381 million from RM179.9 million in the comparableperiod before. It gained revenue of over RM1.5 billion.

Golden Hope group chief executive Datuk Sabri Ahmad said the company willalso do better now that it is a much focused company with the completionof its rationalisation exercise with sister company Island & PeninsularBhd.

Golden Hope has a good story to tell investors in which its profit in2004/2005 will be better due to holding CPO prices currently at betweenRM1,400 and RM1,500 a tonne.

"I expect CPO prices to maintain at the RM1,400 a tonne level for a whileand at a production cost of RM700 a tonne, that is a very good margin forus," Sabri said on the sidelines of the Invest Malaysia 2005 Conference.