KUALA LUMPUR: KESM Industries Bhd
is well-equipped to meet its customers' evolving needs for more advanced chips, with the majority of its recent equipment investments now certified for volume production.
“Additionally, the group is optimistic that the short-term softened demand in the non-automotive sector is likely to benefit from the surge in chip processing demands in data centres and artificial intelligence applications,” the world’s largest independent burn-in and test service provider said in a Bursa filing.
KESM said the worldwide semiconductor revenue in 2023, estimated at US$533bil, is a decrease of 11.1% from 2022, primarily caused by reduced demand in smartphones, computers and servers markets, and oversupply inventory levels; despite healthy growth notably in the automotive market segment and artificial intelligence applications.
“The industry outlook is expected to rebound, with a revised estimated growth of 17% to US$624bil in 2024,” it added.
In the second quarter ended Jan 31, KESM posted a net profit of RM138,000, or earnings per share of 0.32 sen compared with a net loss of RM720,000, or loss per share of 1.67 sen in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the period rose to RM61.8mil against RM56mil last year.
For the first six months to Jan 31, KESM posted a net profit of RM1.05mil, against a net loss of RM2.26mil while revenue rose 15.2% to RM125.3mil from RM108.7mil.
"The improvement reflects our focused efforts in delivering value to our stakeholders and adapting to the evolving market dynamics,” executive chairman & CEO Sam Lim said in a statement.
He also attributed the successful turnaround to healthy growth in automotive semiconductors.
“The group is strategically allocating investments to enhance customer support in the automotive semiconductor sector, while simultaneously broadening its scope to include non-automotive,” he added.
