KUALA LUMPUR (March 29): YBS International Bhd is exploring a collaboration with Enovix Corp to develop the former's existing facility at the Penang Science Park as Enovix's new 3D lithium ion silicon battery assembly plant in Southeast Asia.
YBS said Enovix accepted its non-binding letter of interest (LOI) for the collaboration on March 29. The final decision on the project is subject to YBS’ due diligence, further evaluation and determination of various commercial, legal and regulatory and financial factors, it added.
“None of the parties shall be bound in any way in connection with the LOI unless and until the parties execute a definitive agreement, and then shall be bound only in accordance with the terms of such agreement,” said YBS in its bourse filing.
Enovix — a company listed on the US' Nasdaq stock market in July 2021 — is involved in silicon-anode, lithium-ion battery manufacturing with its patented Enovix battery architecture that enables high energy density and capacity without compromising safety.
As a connector solutions provider, YBS is engaged in high precision mould, high precision metal, plastic components and sub-components assembly for various industries in high-end exacting applications including semiconductor, electrical and electronics (E&E), and computers.
YBS’s net profit decreased by 64.97% to RM622,000 in its third quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (3QFY2023) from RM1.77 million in the same quarter a year earlier (3QFY2022) due to decrease in revenue for high margin products.
Its quarterly earnings per share stood at 0.25 sen against 0.71 sen in 3QFY2022.
Quarterly revenue also decreased to RM20.57 million from RM21.07 million previously, as market demand softened and shortages of key components in the precision engineering and plastic injection moulding segment, as well as the precision machining and stamping segment.
For its nine-month period (9MFY2023), net profit improved slightly to RM3.75 million from RM3.43 million a year earlier (9MFY2022) on the back of higher revenue to RM64.93 million versus RM59.19 million in FY2022.
YBS’ share price closed one sen or 1.45% higher at 70 sen on Wednesday, valuing the group at RM176.36 million.