KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 8): The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has trimmed its stake in ViTrox Corp Bhd (KL:VITROX) to below 5%, just six months after first emerging as a substantial shareholder.

The pension fund disposed of 2.46 million shares, equivalent to a 0.13% stake, in the automated test equipment manufacturer last Friday (Oct 3), according to ViTrox's filing with Bursa Malaysia.

Following the sale, EPF’s shareholding eased to 4.94% from 5.07% previously.

The disposal price was not disclosed, but based on ViTrox’s Oct 3 closing price of RM4.25, the block of shares would have been worth about RM10.46 million.

EPF first crossed the substantial shareholder threshold on April 4 with a 5.04% stake.

On Wednesday, ViTrox’s share price slipped seven sen or 1.57% to RM4.38, valuing the group at RM8.29 billion. The counter had hit a year low of RM2.33 on April 9 following the US government’s announcement of new restrictions on chip exports and tariff measures, which weighed on investor sentiment. Since then, the stock has rebounded more than 87%.

ViTrox’s major shareholders include its president and group chief executive officer Datuk Chu Jenn Weng, who holds a 26.62% stake, and senior executive vice-president and executive director Siaw Kok Tong, with 17.74%.

For the second quarter ended June 30, 2025, ViTrox posted a flat net profit of RM28.13 million versus RM28.10 million a year earlier, as a sharp increase in tax provision following the expiry of its pioneer status in mid-June offset higher revenue. Quarterly revenue jumped 33.4% to RM183.04 million from RM137.20 million, driven by double-digit growth in both its automated board inspection and machine vision system businesses.

Cumulatively, net profit for the first half of FY2025 rose 15.4% to RM52.29 million from RM45.33 million a year earlier, on the back of a 26.2% increase in revenue to RM324.16 million from RM256.81 million.