Subdued sentiment on Scicom

PETALING JAYA: A subdued market outlook looms over Scicom (MSC) Bhd as earnings miss estimates, Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd (Ahib) says.

The business process outsourcing (BPO) provider’s core net profit for the nine months ended March 31, 2024 (9M24) fell 18% to RM20.3mil which was below the research firm’s expectations.

Ahib said Scicom reported a weak set of results as its 9M24 revenue fell by 4.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM179.5mil on a lower contribution from its BPO segment.

Sequentially, its third-quarter revenue fell by 14% to RM54.3mil.

According to Ahib, the third quarter is typically a weaker quarter for the e-service segment. It has downgraded its “buy” rating to a “hold” rating on the stock with a target price of RM1.10 per share.