KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 3): Salutica Bhd (KL:SALUTE) has filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision to dismiss its patent infringement suit against Apple Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
“Solicitors for the plaintiff [Salutica's wholly owned unit Salutica Allied Solutions Sdn Bhd] have on Jan 27, filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal against the decision of the High Court handed down on Jan 17,” Salutica said in a bourse filing on Monday.
The High Court has also ordered Salutica Allied Solutions to pay Apple Malaysia the counterclaim of RM1.2 million.
The news of losing its suit at the High Court sent Salutica's shares plummeting on Jan 17, where it recorded a single-day drop of 36.9% to 26.5 sen from 42 sen.
Back in January 2022, Salutica filed a suit accusing Apple Malaysia of infringing on patents related to CrossPair Technology.
Loss-making Salutica is 50.6%-controlled by Ocean Enlightenment Sdn Bhd, a family vehicle held by Joshua Lim and his father James Lim Chong Shyh, the former chief executive officer of Salutica.
For the latest first quarter ended Sept 30, 2024 (1QFY2025), Salutica’s net loss widened to RM8.83 million from RM5.49 million a year earlier, as revenue nearly halved to RM3.65 million versus RM7.27 million.
The wider net loss was attributed to higher costs incurred from holding excess resources pending mass production approval for new projects that are still in the product development stage, as well as low production volumes of existing products.
Looking further back, the company has operated at an annual loss for six consecutive years since the financial year ended June 30, 2019 (FY2019).
Shares in Salutica ended unchanged at 26 sen on Monday, valuing the company at RM108.91 million.