KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 6): Pentamaster Corp Bhd’s (KL:PENTA) second-quarter net profit dropped 41.7% from last year, dragged down by lower contribution from its factory automation segment and unfavourable foreign exchange losses.

The net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2025 (2QFY2025), declined to RM11.61 million from RM19.90 million previously, the Penang-based automated test equipment group said in a filing.

Quarterly revenue fell 15.5% to RM144.88 million from RM171.37 million in 2QFY2024 as the factory automation solutions segment’s revenue dropped 42.4% due to normalisation in the medical segment following strong expansion in the previous year.

However, the decline in overall revenue was partly offset by the automated test equipment segment, which saw its revenue rise 19.3% to RM83.37 million, supported by higher project deliveries in the electro-optical and semiconductor sectors. Profit before tax for the segment more than doubled to RM10.2 million.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the company’s net profit fell 11.1% from RM13.07 million in 1QFY2025, mainly due to the foreign exchange losses and employee benefit expenses from the privatisation of its Hong Kong unit Pentamaster International Ltd. Revenue, meanwhile, increased 10.1% from RM131.60 million.

Pentamaster did not declare any dividend for the quarter.

For the first half, which ended June 30, 2025, the group’s net profit was down 37.2% to RM24.68 million versus RM39.28 million in the same period last year, as revenue fell 19.2% to RM276.48 million from RM342.16 million.

Pentamaster said it expects “more favourable performance” in the second half of FY2025, underpinned by improving order visibility in the automated test equipment segment.

The factory automation solutions division is also expected to benefit from diversification into emerging sectors such as renewable energy, data centres and healthcare automation, driven by rising demand for intelligent and high-precision automation systems, the group said.

“As the trade tariffs imposed by the US become clearer, manufacturing base positioning with automation is expected to provide positive momentum to the factory automation solutions segment,” it added.

Shares in Pentamaster settled up 13 sen or 2.62% at RM3.72 on Wednesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.65 billion.