Singapore's Olam Q1 net profit jumps 56 pct

SINGAPORE Nov 11 (Reuters) - Singapore-based commodity firm Olam International Ltd. (OLAM.SI) said on Thursday its net profit for the July-September period soared 56 percent from a year earlier to S$29.7 million ($23.08 million).

Olam, a $5.47 billion company which generated S$10.5 billion in revenue in the 2009/10 financial year, said the higher profit was driven by increases in sales volume and net contribution from all business segments.

Revenue in the July-September quarter was S$2.5 billion.

The stock closed up 0.3 percent on Thursday at S$3.33 after it reached a 52-week high on Tuesday of S$3.41. It is up 27.7 percent since the start of the year versus an about 14 percent increase in the Singapore index .FTSTI.

In September, Olam said it was in preliminary confidential discussion with Louis Dreyfus, one of the world's top commodity traders, in relation to a possible business collaboration which may take the form of a merger [ID:nSGE68N005]

The talks between Louis Dreyfus and Olam, which operates in 20 product categories across 60 countries, underscore sector consolidation as global players expand across commodities to take advantage of booming demand driven by a rising world population and fast-growing emerging economies. ($1=1.287 Singapore dollar) (Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) ((nopporn.wong-anan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6403 5665; Reuters Messaging: nopporn.wong-anan.reuters.com@reuters.net) (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com))