KUALA LUMPUR (May 9): A rush to beat the US tariff deadline is boosting orders for Mi Technovation Bhd (KL:MI), and the company is upbeat on its financial performance for the first half of 2025, Public Investment Bank said.

Mi Technovation only has a small 2% exposure to the US market, though there have been persistent robust orders for its assembly and packaging, vision inspection, bonding and final test equipment as clients aggressively frontload before the end of the tariff pause on July 8, the research house said on Friday.

“There is no cancellation of existing orders,” Public Investment Bank said but cautioned that “the momentum could be weaker” in the second half.

Public Investment Bank forecasts the company to report a core net profit of RM78.2 million for 2025. The research house kept the stock on an ‘outperform’ call following a recent meeting with its management.

Mi Technovation, which sells equipment, materials and solutions catering to the semiconductor industry, will report its first quarter results on May 16.

Shares of Mi Technovation have rebounded more than 28% from April lows during the US tariff turmoil that rocked global markets. Year-to-date, investors are still nursing a 19% year-to-date loss in the stock.

At its materials unit, however, the outlook appears “stagnant”, said Public Investment Bank. The first quarter is usually a weak quarter for solder ball sales due to slow demand and shorter working days in Taiwan and China, the research house said.

Further, Mi Technovation is considering a third production site for solder balls apart from Tainan in Taiwan and Ningbo in China due to the intensifying trade restrictions, Public Investment Bank noted.

Meanwhile, its solutions business would only begin to see “substantial” contribution to earnings from 2028 onwards, supplying powertrains to the commercial vehicle manufacturers that cater to markets in Taiwan, China and Japan, the research house added.