KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 15): VSTECS Bhd’s net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 (2QFY2023) rose 20.28% to RM15.65 million, from RM13.01 million a year before, on higher forex fair gain of RM4 million, despite lower revenue. 

Earnings per share increased to 4.4 sen per share in 2QFY2023, from 3.6 sen per share a year ago, the information and communications technology (ICT) company’s filing with Bursa Malaysia showed on Wednesday (Aug 16).

Quarterly revenue, however, dropped 14.02% to RM608.79 million, from RM708.09 million previously, due to a slowdown in the consumer market. Notably, the latest revenue of RM608.79 million is its lowest in two years, when it recorded RM563.9 million in 2QFY2021. 

For the cumulative six-month of FY2023 (6MFY2023), its net profit rose 22.51% to RM30.50 million, from RM24.89 million a year before, due to higher forex gains.

This was despite revenue falling 5.79% to RM1.27 billion, from RM1.35 billion previously.

Looking forward, the group said demand for consumer ICT products will continue to drop and this worldwide trend is expected to continue into 2024.

Commercial and enterprise projects are keeping their pace but there is a dearth of large public sector projects, it added.

On a positive note, the group said it is capitalising on many data centre opportunities in Malaysia and well-positioned to supply them with a complete solution comprising ICT products like servers, storage systems, network devices and enterprise software as well as digital power of UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply), racking and cooling solutions.

“Overall, we remain cautious on prospects for 3QFY2023 and the balance of the year,” it noted.

VSTECS’ shares closed unchanged at RM1.38, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM497 million.

The stock has rallied 30% in the past year from RM1.06.