KESM sees turnaround in financial performance

PETALING JAYA: KESM Industries Bhd is optimistic about its earnings prospects in the medium term amid the recovery of the global semiconductor industry.

In a statement, the world’s largest independent burn-in and test service provider said it was well-equipped to meet the evolving needs in the market for more advanced chips.

KESM returned to the black with a net profit of RM138,000 for the second quarter of its financial year ending July 31, 2024 (2Q24) on higher revenue.

This compared with a net loss of RM720,000 posted in the corresponding quarter of the preceding year.

For the quarter in review, KESM saw its revenue increase by about 10.3% to RM61.77mil from RM55.99mil in 2Q23.

This was largely due to higher sales generated from processing automotive chips.

For the first half (1H) of 2024 (1H24), KESM made a net profit of RM1.05mil, as compared to a net loss of RM2.26mil in 1H23, while revenue increased to RM125.3mil from RM108.75mil on higher sales generated from processing automotive chips.

In a statement, KESM executive chairman and CEO Sam Lim said the improvement in the group’s financial performance reflected its focused efforts in delivering value to its stakeholders and adapting to the evolving market dynamics.

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 said.

Optimistic about its prospects, KESM said with the majority of its recent equipment investments now certified for volume production, the group was well equipped to meet its customers’ changing needs for more advanced chips.

Additionally, the group remained optimistic that the short-term softened demand in the non-automotive sector would benefit from the surge in chip processing demands in data centres and artificial intelligence applications.

KESM’s shares slid eight sen to close at RM6.40 yesterday.