Wilmar International shares fall amid earnings dip and Indonesian fire probe

Shares of agribusiness giant Wilmar International fell nearly 5% on Thursday, reaching their lowest level since January. The decline follows reports of weaker underlying third-quarter earnings and an investigation by Indonesian police into plantation fires.

Indonesian authorities are conducting preliminary investigations into fires affecting approximately 28 hectares of plantation land owned by Wilmar subsidiaries in West Kalimantan. While the company is cooperating with officials, its internal investigation suggests the fires originated in non-planted areas, conservation zones, or land farmed by local communities, rather than through Wilmar’s own land clearing activities. The company estimates crop and oil palm losses at less than US$500,000.

Financially, Wilmar reported a net profit of US$281 million for the third quarter of 2026, a turnaround from a US$347.7 million loss in the same period last year. However, when excluding one-time compensation payments made to the Indonesian government in 2025, underlying net profit actually decreased by 22.9% compared to the previous year. Core net profit saw a 25.2% decline to US$267.3 million.