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Malaysia's Sime Darby Q1 net profit rises 2.4 pct

Reuters

* Plantations, motor and property divisions drive earnings

* Revenue flat at 10.1 bln ringgit

* Medium to long term palm prices outlook remains positive (Add company quote, extension of New Britain Palm Oil offer, context)

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Sime Darby Bhd, the world's largest listed palm oil producer, reported on Friday a 2.4 percent rise in first-quarter profit driven by gains at its plantation, motors and property businesses.

Net profit for July-September climbed to 500.7 million ringgit ($148.42 million) from 489 million ringgit a year earlier, Sime Darby said in a stock exchange filing. Revenue was flat at 10.1 billion ringgit.

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The benchmark February crude palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was trading at 2,167 ringgit ($642) a tonne on Friday.

Malaysian palm oil, which sets the tone for global prices, has tumbled 19 percent this year on prospects of a record supply of competing soybeans from the U.S. and South America. A slide in crude oil prices and a disappointing take-up for biodiesel in top grower Indonesia have also weighed.

During July to September, the price of the tropical oil lost 8.6 percent to post its biggest quarterly decline since 2012.

"The medium to long term outlook remains positive with (palm) prices expected to recover due to lower growth output, the extension of the CPO export tax exemption and the strong mandate for biodiesel consumption in both Malaysia and Indonesia," the company said in notes accompanying the filing.

In a separate filing, Sime Darby said it will extend the offer period to buy New Britain Palm Oil Ltd for about $1.74 billion to give more time for the European Commission to conduct due diligence.

Shares of Sime Darby fell 0.1 percent to 9.68 ringgit ahead of the earnings announcement. The counter has climbed 1.8 percent year-to-date, outperforming the benchmark stock index's 2 percent decline.

For the full filing, please click: http://bit.ly/1zZIqge ($1 = 3.3735 ringgit) (Reporting by Anuradha Raghu and Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Miral Fahmy and Christopher Cushing)