KUALA LUMPUR: Unisem (M) Bhd says Malaysia stands to benefit from trade tensions as a strategic alternative destination in the supply chain despite the cautious outlook of the semiconductor industry.
"The launch of the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) by the Malaysian government is a positive development that should help drive the industry forward, thus benefiting local semiconductor companies," said the group in comments accompanying its results filing with Bursa Malaysia.
In light of this, the directors of the company said the performance of the group is expected to be satisfactory in the coming financial quarter.
In the second quarter ended June 30, 2024, Unisem posted a net profit of RM16.76mil, which was lower than RM23.92mil recorded in the same quarter in the previous year due to a lower gross profit margin arising from a change in product mix and increased operating costs.
The group reported revenue of RM394.59mil, which was higher than RM378.66mil in the comparative quarter while earnings per share was 1.04 sen against 1.48 sen previously.
For the cumulative six months of the year, the group's net profit was RM25.22mil as compared to RM33.79mil while revenue rose to RM759.36mil against RM732.71mil in the year-ago period.
The board of directors approved a second interim dividend of two sen per share, going ex on Sept 19, 2024, and payable on Oct 4, 2024.