Tax chips away at Unisem's Q4 earnings

PETALING JAYA: Unisem (M) Bhd saw its net profit in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2016 (Q4FY16) fall 15% to RM51.34 million, from RM60.42 million in the previous corresponding quarter, primarily due to increased tax expense arising from reversal of deferred tax assets.
Revenue increased by 2.9% to RM362.13 million, compared with RM351.97 million in the same period last year, attributed mainly to higher sales volume coupled with the appreciation of the US dollar against the ringgit and the renminbi.
For the full year, its net profit rose 4.3% to RM162.3 million, against 155.54 million a year ago, mainly due to higher revenue and foreign exchange gain as well as lower depreciation charges.
Unisem’s revenue grew 4.9% to RM1.32 billion, from RM1.26 billion previously.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the group said all of its segments showed improvement in revenue.“The US segment recorded improvement in net profit of 13.6%, Asia segment’s net profit decreased by 1.5% whilst Europe segment recorded net loss of RM0.24 million,” it added.

On prospects, Unisem said it expects the performance of the group to be satisfactory in the next financial year in line with the modest growth forecast by the semiconductor industry.