PETALING JAYA: KESM Industries Bhd was the top loser on the stock exchange this morning after its net profit for the second quarter ended Jan 31, 2019 plunged 95.76% to RM474,000 from RM11.18 million a year ago due to a 78% drop in other income during the quarter.
At 11.44am, KESM lost 92 sen or 9.76% to trade at RM8.51 with 237,200 shares changing hands.
The group said other income was lower during the quarter due to lower gain on disposal of machinery spares of RM300,000 and absence of government grant of RM300,000.
During the quarter, interest income rose 78% following higher placements of short-term deposits while raw materials and consumables used and changes in inventories of finished goods and work-in-progress rose 59% to support the increased electronic manufacturing services (EMS) revenue from new customers.
Employee benefits expense was lower by 12% following the alignment of staff costs to operational requirements while other expenses were lower by 5% due to lower management fees as well as lower repairs and maintenance as a result of lower revenue from burn-in and testing services.
Revenue for the quarter fell 11.33% to RM81.11 million from RM91.47 million a year ago due to lower demand for burn-in and testing services, offset by higher revenue from rendering of EMS to new customers.
For the six months ended Jan 31, KESM’s net profit fell 86.19% to RM3.12 million from RM22.55 million a year ago while revenue fell 10.71% to RM162.66 million from RM182.18 million a year ago.
