KUALA LUMPUR (July 25): Automated test equipment manufacturer ViTrox Corp Bhd (KL:VITROX) saw its second-quarter net profit fall 25.4% year-on-year, dragged down by the group’s ongoing research and development (R&D) investment as well as unfavourable foreign exchange (forex) losses.

In a bourse filing on Thursday, Penang-based ViTrox said higher spending on R&D was intended to capture future growth prospects and sustain long-term competitiveness.

Net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024) came in at RM28.1 million, down from RM37.66 million a year earlier. As a result, earnings per share fell to 1.49 sen for 2QFY2024 versus 1.99 sen for 2QFY2023.

Revenue for the quarter also fell 8.2% to RM137.2 million, from RM149.39 million in 2QFY2023, on lower sales of automated board inspection. However, this was partially offset by robust sales orders from its machine vision system.

No dividend was declared for the quarter under review.

ViTrox’s net profit for the cumulative six months ended June 30, 2024 (1HFY2024) also declined 35.8% to RM45.33 million from RM70.65 million a year earlier, as revenue fell 9.2% to RM256.81 million from RM282.72 million in 1HFY2023.

On prospects in the second half of 2024, the group said it remains cautiously optimistic amid the slower-than-expected world economic recovery.

“The group is confident in achieving steady growth and improvements in the semiconductor back-end sector. Our focus will remain on fortifying customer relationships and ensuring diligent cost management,” it said.

Shares of ViTrox settled down eight sen or 1.93% to RM4.07 on Thursday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM7.7 billion. Its share price has risen 13.6% so far this year.