KUALA LUMPUR (March 7): Integrated circuits burn-in and test service provider KESM Industries Bhd has reported a net profit of RM138,000 for its second quarter ended Jan 31, 2024 (2QFY2024), compared with a net loss of RM720,000 a year earlier, on the back of higher sales generated from processing automotive chips.
 
Quarterly revenue rose 10.32% to RM61.77 million from RM55.99 million in 2QFY2023, according to the group's exchange filing.  

KESM saw a turnaround in its half-year earnings performance as well, with a net profit RM1.05 million compared with a net loss of RM2.26 million in the previous August-January period.

Six-month revenue rose 15.21% to RM125.3 million from RM108.75 million previously amid higher sales.  

KESM executive chairman and CEO Sam Lim attributed the 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 in a statement.

Moving forward, KESM said the short-term softened demand in the non-automotive sector is likely to benefit from the surge in chip processing demands in data centres and artificial intelligence applications.

KESM shares closed eight sen or 1.2% lower at RM6.40 on Thursday, valuing the group at RM275.3 million.