This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 2, 2026 - February 8, 2026

ENGINEERING support services provider Ambest Group Bhd (KL:AMBEST) will be the sixth company to debut on the ACE Market this year.

The company, which will list this Friday (Feb 6), is a high-precision machining company that manufactures customised metal parts and components that are typically used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment such as those for wafer fabrication and related upstream processes, says Ambest managing director Tan Beng Beng in an email reply to The Edge.

“Within the semiconductor ecosystem, ­Ambest operates as a front-end supporting player. We do not manufacture chips. We supply the precision parts that enable chip-making machinery to function reliably. These parts are generally incorporated into semiconductor manufacturing tools,” he explains.

With the push to further develop the semiconductor ecosystem through policies such as the National Semiconductor Strategy, Ambest believes it can ride the tailwinds of investments flowing into Malaysia’s semiconductor industry.

“As global supply chains continue to diversify, [we are well positioned] to capture more international orders, even while operating from Malaysia,” says Tan.

He adds that Ambest’s post-listing strategy is focused on deepening its capabilities rather than geographical expansion. The local market makes up about 84% of the company’s total revenue, with the remaining coming from the international markets.

Key growth initiatives include expanding capacity and enhancing capabilities. It is adding another storey as well as a clean-room area to its Facility 42A factory in Bayan Lepas, enabling it to install more computer numerical control (CNC) machines and improve overall production flow.

“Our objective is to increase our manufacturing footprint so that we can support larger and more complex orders from both existing and new customers. The renovation works, estimated at around RM5 million, together with related equipment, will be funded through IPO proceeds and [partly through] bank financing,” says Tan.

To align with customer demand for increasingly sophisticated semiconductor equipment components, Ambest is going into more complex and larger machining parts, representing a move up the value chain, and branching into adjacent markets.

“This reflects our intention to expand into more regulated industries, such as medical technology, aerospace and others, while continuing to serve the semiconductor sector. Over the longer term, we plan to broaden our customer base by targeting clients from other industries and showcasing our enhanced high-end machining capabilities.”

Tan says Ambest, which uses aluminium for its manufacturing process, has not been materially affected by fluctuations in raw material prices. Aluminium purchases accounted for 12.6%, 5.7% and 26.6% of total purchases in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022), FY2023 and FY2024 respectively.

“These figures indicate that aluminium exposure varies from year to year depending on product mix and customer demand. Overall, aluminium represents a moderate but not dominant portion of the group’s total cost base,” he says.

“While there can be no assurance that any major adverse future fluctuations in raw material prices will not impact the group’s operations, financial performance or financial position, our raw materials are commodity-based and readily available in the market, with alternative suppliers available.”

The company does not use financial hedging instruments. It manages currency risk by diversifying its US dollar-denominated transactions, reducing concentration risk and closely monitoring exchange rate movements.

Ambest’s revenue and net profit did not show linear growth from FY2022 to FY2024. Revenue amounted to RM59.37 million in FY2022, dipped to RM45.76 million in FY2023 before rebounding to RM47.26 million in FY2024. Net profit showed a similar trend, falling from RM7.19 million in FY2022 to RM6.81 million in FY2023 before increasing to RM7.06 million in FY2024.

Its gross profit margin is, however, on the upward trend, rising from 21.74% in FY2022 to 28.67% in FY2023 and 30.18% in FY2024. For the financial period ended Sept 30, 2025, it reported RM5.22 million in net profit on revenue of RM39.79 million.

Ambest will raise RM22.7 million in net proceeds (after deducting RM4.8 million in listing expenses) from the sale of 110 million new shares at 25 sen each. About RM12 million, or 43.6%, of RM27.5 million in gross IPO proceeds will go towards repaying bank borrowings taken to part-finance the acquisition of Facility 42A. Meanwhile, RM3.5 million will be used for the purchase of new CNC machines, leaving RM6.8 million for working capital.

The offer for sale of 40.95 million existing shares will raise RM10.24 million for shareholders and co-founders Tan and Lim Eng Guan.

PublicInvest Research ascribed a fair value of 28 sen to Ambest shares, representing 16 times FY2026 earnings, in line with its peer average. “Growth is driven primarily by a recovery in the semiconductor segment and bolstered by the increased capacity from recent machinery investments and the planned purchase of new machinery. The positive outlook for the engineering support industry is expected to benefit from the technological advancement and expansion in end-user markets. The recovery in the semiconductor industry provides further tailwind,” the research house wrote. 

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