Ace market debutee Cropmate Bhd added one sen to reach RM0.21 as at 12:35pm, still reflecting an increase of 5.0% from its listing price of RM0.20 on a volume of 184,512,200 units/shares.

Earlier, Cropmate's shares opened at RM0.245 which represented a 22.5% rise over its Initial Public Offering price.

Cropmate is an investment holding company operating through its subsidiary Cropmate Fertilizer Sdn Bhd which is primarily involved in the formulation and blending of conventional and specialty fertilisers as well as trading of straight fertilisers and related products.

The company carry out research and development for new or enhanced formulations of its fertilisers and customise formulations for some of our customers, aiming to help farmers increase both their yield and product quality.

According to the IPO prospectus submitted to Bursa Malaysia, Cropmate's operation generated a revenue of RM151,547,000 in 2023, contracting by 19.52% year-on-year (YoY) from RM188,296,000 recorded in 2022, mainly attributed to the decline in average selling prices (ASP) coupled with lower sales volume of fertilisers.

The lower ASP was mainly due to the overall decrease in prices of input materials as a result of declining key fertilisers prices arising from adjustments in the global economy, including a rebound in fertiliser production and the installation of new production capacities, in response to supply disruptions notably from Ukraine.

Profit after tax for 2023 also decreased 31.21% YoY to RM10,054,000, from RM14,616,000 recorded in the previous financial year ended 31 December 2022.

Earnings per share (EPS) for 2023 stood at 1.40 sen per share, compared to 2.00 sen per share in 2022.

For the financial periods under review, Cropmate's revenue was derived from the sales of fertilisers under two segments, recognised when the fertilisers have been delivered to customers:
(i) Formulation and Blending Segment: Sales of conventional and specialty fertilisers formulated and blended at Cropmate's production facility located in Klang, Selangor, accounting for 70%-75% of the total sales.
(ii) Trading Segment: Mainly from the sales of straight fertilisers, such as N, P and K fertilisers, and to a lesser extent, other macronutrients, micronutrients and organic matters without blending, responsible for 25%-30% of total sales.