KUALA LUMPUR (June 14): PIE Industrial Bhd (KL:PIE), whose share price rose 18% on Friday, said it is not aware of any corporate development, rumour or report that may have triggered the jump.
“We are not aware of any possible explanation to account for the trading activity,” the electronics manufacturing services firm said in a reply to the unusual market activity (UMA) query by Bursa Malaysia Securities, following a sharp climb in its share price and trading volume.
PIE Industrial was among Bursa Malaysia’s top gainers on Friday. It surged 18% or RM1.09 to an all-time high of RM7.28 in morning trade, before closing the day at RM7.08, still up 89 sen or 14%.
The counter saw 2.58 million shares traded during the day, almost triple its four-week average.
At RM7.08, PIE Industrial has a market capitalisation of RM2.72 billion.
Despite the tech sector's slow recovery in the first half of this year, shares of PIE Industrial have risen 122.64% year-to-date.
Kenanga Investment Bank and Affin Hwang Investment Bank have 'buy' calls for the stock, according to Bloomberg. PIE Industrial's current price exceeds the consensus 12-month target price of RM6.75.
PIE Industrial's net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 fell 31.2% to RM9.70 million from RM14.11 million a year earlier on lower revenue and lower gain from foreign exchange transactions. Revenue dropped 28.1% to RM239.18 million from RM332.45 million, mainly due to lower demand from existing customers for electronic manufacturing services, raw wire and cables.
For FY2023 as a whole, PIE Industrial posted a 6.42% increase in net profit to RM75.41 million versus RM70.86 million in the previous year, as revenue rose 4.43% to RM1.22 billion from RM1.17 billion.
The group had announced an interim dividend of five sen per share and a special dividend of two sen per share, payable on June 20.