KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 28): Unisem (M) Bhd (KL:UNISEM) said on Friday that its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2024 (4QFY2024) plunged 69.4% year-on-year, as higher operating costs and weaker margins from changes in the product mix weighed on earnings.

Net profit for the quarter under review fell to RM8.7 million, from RM28.44 million a year earlier, despite revenue increasing 17.4% to RM411.78 million from RM350.79 million, driven by higher sales volume, a bourse filing showed on Friday.

The semiconductor firm declared a fourth interim dividend of two sen per share, payable on April 3. This brings total dividend payout for FY2024 to eight sen per share, unchanged from FY2023.

For the full financial year, Unisem’s net profit declined 24.4% to RM60.67 million, from RM80.24 million a year ago, even as revenue grew 9.8% to RM1.58 billion from RM1.44 billion, supported by stronger demand from the US and Europe.

Looking ahead, Unisem expects demand to be driven by artificial intelligence (AI)-related semiconductors, data centres, automotive applications, and the global roll-out of 5G networks, which will boost demand for mobile devices, Internet of Things, and telecommunications infrastructure. The group expects its FY2025 performance to remain satisfactory.

Shares of Unisem were down 14 sen or 6.09% at RM2.16 at the time of writing on Friday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM3.71 billion. Year to date, the stock has declined over 28%, impacted by concerns over US chip policy and the emergence of China’s DeepSeek AI assistant.