KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 31): Dufu Technology Corp Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3QFY2023) fell by 79.42% to RM3.38 million compared to RM16.42 million, on the back of increase in operating costs and drop in revenue. 

Consequently, earnings per share dropped to 0.6 sen from 3.1 sen, its Bursa Malaysia filing showed on Tuesday.

Quarterly revenue eased by 26.08% to RM55.24 million from RM74.72 million, underpinned by a decrease in revenue related to hard disk drive (HDD) components and sheet metal fabrication.

For the full nine-month period ended on Sept 30 (9MFY2023), the group’s net profit decreased by 72.53% to RM17.58 million from RM63.99 million, largely due to lower revenue.

Revenue, on the other hand, fell by 30% to RM177.07 million from RM252.83 million.

On a quarterly basis, the group’s net profit came in marginally higher from RM3.32 million registered in the immediate preceding quarter (2QFY2023) while revenue increased by 15.91% from RM47.65 million in 2QFY2023. 

The group said its profitability was affected by the increased energy costs resulting from electricity tariff adjustments through the imbalance cost pass-through (ICPT) mechanism.

“Looking ahead in the long term, we anticipate digital storage devices to grow in sync with the strong demand from the cloud data centre market, driven by the relentless growth of data. HDD storage devices are expected to remain the most cost-effective solution for storing large volumes of data. 

“The group remains committed to streamlining its business structure, enhancing its processes, and optimising operations,” it said.  

Shares in Dufu Tech closed two sen or 1.15% lower to RM1.72, giving it a market capitalisation of RM935.9 million.