KUALA LUMPUR (July 25): Prudential plc has emerged as a substantial shareholder at Penang-based automated test equipment (ATE) maker TT Vision Holdings Bhd (KL:TTVHB), after acquiring 293,600 shares in the company.
According to a bourse filing on July 23, Prudential plc acquired 24.12 million shares, raising its total stake in the company to 5.04% — held under funds managed by Eastspring Investments Bhd.
Besides Prudential plc, TT Vision’s other substantial shareholders are chief executive officer Goon Koon Yin, and chief operating officer Wong Yih Hsow, among others.
Meanwhile, Phillip Capital has maintained its “buy” rating on TT Vision at RM1.06, with an unchanged target price of RM1.50, and expects the company to report higher sequential earnings in its upcoming results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024), driven by increased order deliveries and a robust order backlog.
In a note on Thursday, the research house said that TT Vision had secured about RM10 million in new orders in 2QFY2024, across the solar, optoelectronics and semiconductor segments.
“We expect stronger earnings momentum in the second half (of the year), bolstered by the solar and semiconductor sectors, due to ongoing capital expenditure by customers to adopt new technologies and expand their operations,” the house said.
Phillip Capital said TT Vision’s newly set-up joint venture (JV) with Wuxi Autowell is progressing well, with plant renovations scheduled for completion by August and 50 workers hired.
TT Vision is principally involved in the development and manufacturing of machine vision equipment and the provision of related products and services.
At 2:05pm on Thursday, TT Vision’s share price rose three sen or 2.83% to RM1.09, bringing it a market capitalisation of RM522.18 million.