KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 23): SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd, a subsidiary of Singapore Aerospace Manufacturing Pte Ltd, posted a 52.81% increase in its net profit for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (3QFY2024) to RM29.32 million, from RM19.19 million a year earlier, thanks to higher profit contribution from both its equipment and aerospace segments.

The group saw increased sales mainly due to higher demand and favourable foreign exchange (forex) translation.

Quarterly revenue grew 11.54% to RM387.28 million from RM347.21 million in 3QFY2023, on increased sales and forex gains.

On a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, net profit fell 10.14% from RM32.63 million it made in 2QFY2024, as revenue dropped 9.64% from RM428.62 million in the immediate preceding quarter, due to lower sales q-o-q.

SAM Engineering's equipment segment provides solutions for factory automation, and caters to industries such as semiconductors. In the aerospace industry, it offers specialised machining of aircraft parts. 

For the first nine months of FY2024 (9MFY2024), SAM Engineering’s net profit rose 18.41% to RM82.48 million as compared with RM69.66 million in 9MFY2023, as revenue increased slightly by 1.45% to RM1.12 billion from RM1.11 billion.

On its outlook, the group noted that the semiconductor equipment industry is witnessing a recovery in sales, however, the fabrication (fab) utilisation was low at about 70% in the second half of 2023.

“It may take time for fab utilisation to fully recover and for our customers to consume excess equipment inventories before demand increases in tandem with the global forecast. Meanwhile, we have secured new projects that should contribute to our revenue growth in the near future,” it said.

Shares of SAM Engineering closed down eight sen or 1.84% to RM4.26 on Friday, valuing the group at RM2.88 billion.