Kuala lumpur: Bandar Pusat Jengka Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has announced FELCRA Bhd's first interim distributable profit for 2026, amounting to RM126.9 million. Ahmad Zahid said the profit distribution will benefit more than 72,000 participants nationwide. "This distribution will be disbursed in stages to more than 72,000 participants throughout Malaysia, involving 747 projects that recorded profits," he said during his opening address at the 2026 World Rural Development Day celebration at Stadium Tun Abdul Razak, Bandar Pusat Jengka here today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, FELCRA Bhd chief executive officer Mohamed Ismi Abdul Majid stated that the first interim profit distribution for this year increased by 7.6 per cent to RM126.9 million, compared with RM117 million during the corresponding period last year. He mentioned that FELCRA hopes this profit distribution will help improve the wellbeing of participants, particularly in supporting educational expenses for participants' children pursuing higher education.

Mohamed Ismi highlighted that increased production output and lower operating costs compared with last year were key contributors to the higher profit distribution. He noted that the average crude palm oil (CPO) price for the January to April period this year stood at RM4,367 per tonne, compared with RM4,600 per tonne during the same period last year. "Although CPO prices declined, profits still increased because operating costs were successfully reduced by 12 per cent. In addition, the number of projects receiving profit distributions rose to 747, compared with 684 projects last year," he added.

He explained that the first interim distribution covered profits generated between January and April, with payments beginning this month. The second interim distribution, covering the May to August period, is scheduled to be paid in November following the completion of the account-closing process in September.