KUALA LUMPUR: KESM Industries Bhd
’s fourth-quarter (Q4) net profit dipped 23% from a year earlier, but the company nonetheless closed its financial year ended July 31, 2016, commendably with a 46% annual improvement in net profit to RM30.68mil.
In its quarterly financial report to Bursa Malaysia, the country’s largest independent “burn-in” service company said its net profit for Q4 fell to RM8.04mil from RM10.45mil previously.
This was despite recording 8% higher revenue of RM74.53mil as the company saw higher demand for burn-in and test services. (KESM specialises in testing semiconductor chips. “Burn-in” involves stressing of chips at high temperatures to ensure their reliability.)
KESM said “other income” for the quarter was lower by RM1.7mil or 73% due to absence of an exchange gain of RM1.1mil and the absence of reversal of sundry payables of RM0.7mil.
Its overall expenses in Q4 grew about 7%, with the biggest increases seen in employee benefits expense (up 19% or RM4.21mil) and other expenses (up 17% or RM2.57mil). These increases were partially offset by the lower spending for raw materials and consumables (down 32% or RM2.95mil).
For the full year, KESM’s net profit grew 46% to RM30.68mil while profit attributable to shareholders jumped 80% (from a smaller base of RM17.03mil) a year earlier.
Commenting on the full-year performance, KESM executive chairman and CEO Sam Lim called 2016 “an excellent year.”
“We closed the year with a solid balance sheet with strong revenue and remarkable profit growth. Demand was particularly strong for our burn-in and test services of automotive chips,” he said.
“KESM is superbly positioned in our target market and we are confidently looking at 2017 with greater optimism.”
The board has recommended a final dividend of RM3 per share, bringing the total dividend to RM7.50 for the year (FY15: 6 sen).
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
