Greatech fourth-quarter earnings up 77%

The factory automation solutions provider, which has seen its share price rise 267% in the last one year, announced that its net profit in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31,2020 surged almost 77% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM31.83mil.

PETALING JAYA: Greatech Technology Bhd ended its financial year 2020 (FY20) with another round of strong quarterly earnings, led by increased demand for its production line systems from the electric vehicle (EV) energy storage industry.

The factory automation solutions provider, which has seen its share price rise 267% in the last one year, announced that its net profit in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31,2020 surged almost 77% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM31.83mil.

Revenue rose 30.47% y-o-y to RM76.35mil from RM58.52mil a year earlier.

The increase was primarily attributable to the higher revenue recognised for production line systems from existing customers, as well as a non-recurring engineering revenue recognised from a new customer in the EV energy storage industry.

Despite the strong revenue growth, it was partially offset by a decrease in single automated equipment and provision of parts and demand for on-site services, installation and commissioning revenue from existing customers.

Earnings per share for the quarter under review was at 4.55 sen.

The company did not declare a dividend for the quarter.

For FY20, Greatech’s net profit leaped by nearly 68% y-o-y to RM91.16mil.

“This was due to the higher revenue recognised and gross profit compared with the prior year.

“This was also due to the increase in other income of RM700,000, mainly arising from the increased dividend income from the placement of short-term funds, ” the company said in a Bursa Malaysia filing.

Revenue in the 12-month period rose 20.9% y-o-y to RM261.13mil.

Looking ahead into 2021, while the near-term economic outlook is uncertain, Greatech said it had entered the year with a robust order book.

“The group remains relatively well-positioned and resilient to sustain the underlying demand, and confident in its ability to continue gaining market share in the EV energy storage industry and making meaningful progress throughout 2021.

“The group has allocated RM77.37mil for its targeted capital expenditure investment in 2021 to support operating and growth requirements.

“This includes a new 230,000-square-feet facility in Batu Kawan Industrial Park and its facility in the US, ” it said.

As of Feb 4, the group’s order book stood at RM351.2mil, which is expected to last until the first half of 2022.