KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 3): Investment company Abrdn plc, formerly known as Aberdeen Asset Management plc, has emerged as a substantial shareholder in Feytech Holdings Bhd (KL:FEYTECH), after raising its stake to 5.21% or 43.91 million shares.

This followed Abrdn's acquisition of 2.56 million shares in the automotive seat maker through two separate transactions last week.

Abrdn acquired 857,400 shares on Nov 28, which would have cost about RM574,458 based on Feytech's closing price of 67 sen. It bought another 1.7 million shares the following day at an estimated cost of RM1.1 million, based on the closing price of 64.5 sen.

Feytech, which debuted on Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market in May this year, is 70%-owned by the Go family. The counter rose four sen, or 5.67%, to close at 74.5 sen on Tuesday, valuing the company at RM594.5 million. Its share price had hit a low of 56.5 sen on Nov 21.

For the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2024 (3QFY2024), Feytech reported a 57% drop in net profit to RM7.16 million, from RM16.52 million in 2QFY2024, as revenue declined 28.18% to RM48.98 million from RM68.2 million.

This was attributed to reduced demand for automotive seats and covers due to lower vehicle sales from one of the group’s customers, as well as the ongoing facelift of a customer’s vehicle models, which impacted production.

The company’s net profit margin shrank to 14.6%, from 24.23% in 2QFY2024.

The company nonetheless declared a special dividend of 2.7 sen per share for FY2024, payable on Dec 30.