Pentamaster said the group’s primary focus is to ensure its core businesses remain robust.
PETALING JAYA: Pentamaster Corp Bhd
continues to identify growth drivers such as artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, automotive electrification, and medical automation to drive its business momentum forward.
The company is particularly optimistic about the expanding role of AI in cloud and data centres as this trend is expected to create significant opportunities for the demand of the group’s test equipment used in advanced semiconductor packaging.
“The increasing adoption of silicon carbide-based power solutions across various applications, particularly in data centres and high bandwidth memory (HBM) chipset is gaining momentum,” Pentamaster said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.
The trend is expected to generate an uptick in demand for the group’s wafer-level burn-in tester for silicon carbide, besides test handler solutions for advanced semiconductor packaging in dynamic random access memory as well as HBM.
“The global semiconductor industry is demonstrating its strong fundamentals and growth potential supporting the diverse range of disruptive applications emerging from the AI wave.
“As forecast, the semiconductor test equipment are projected to rise 7.4% in 2024, while assembly and packaging equipment sales are predicted to increase 10% for the same period, and this momentum shall continue into 2025 due to increased demand for advanced logic and memory applications,” Pentamaster stated in its filing.
Despite market fluctuations and industry challenges, Pentamaster recognised the strong foundation of the electric vehicle (EV) market, supported by regulations, expanding charging infrastructure, industry investments, and growing consumer demand for affordable, eco-friendly options.
“These ongoing developments are expected to sustain a considerable amount of business opportunities for the group to navigate uncertainties and capitalise on emerging prospects,” it said.
Meanwhile, for the second quarter ended June 30 (2Q24), Pentamaster’s net profit fell 15.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM19.9mil or earnings per share (EPS) of 2.8 sen as revenue fell by 3% to RM171.4mil.
The drop in topline number was due to a drop in its automated test equipment (ATE) segment while earnings were hit by lower ATE sales volume, increased employee expenses, provisions for slow-moving inventories and research and development expenditures for certain projects undertaken in the ATE segment.
The fall in profit was cushioned by the strong growth in its factory automation solutions (FAS) segment, its filing noted.
Pentamsater’s revenue was mainly contributed by the ATE and FAS segments, constituting 40.7% and 59.3% respectively in 2Q24.
For the first half, it posted a 13% y-o-y lower net profit of RM39.3mil or EPS of 5.52 sen while revenue was flat at RM342.16mil y-o-y.
Pentamaster said although the group expects a challenging business environment in the second half of the year, it remains steadfast in its commitment to demonstrating resilience and agility in navigating this complex landscape.
“The group’s primary focus is to ensure its core businesses remain robust and adaptable in the face of these challenges while continuing to pursue business diversification to explore new opportunities within its established markets.
“Through these comprehensive efforts, the group is determined to sustain growth and maintain stability to weather the challenging conditions ahead,” it said.
