KUALA LUMPUR: Pentamaster Corp Bhd
continues to identify growth drivers such as artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, automotive electrification, and medical automation to drive its business momentum forward.
“The group is particularly optimistic about the expanding role of AI in cloud
and data centres as this trend is expected to create significant opportunities for the demand of the group’s test equipment used in advanced semiconductor packaging.
“Furthermore, the increasing adoption of silicon carbide-based power solutions across various applications, particularly in data centres and high bandwidth memory (HBM) chipset is gaining momentum,” Pentamaster said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.
It said the trend is expected to generate an uptick in demand for the group’s wafer-level burn-in tester for silicon carbide, besides test handler solutions for advanced semiconductor packaging in Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) as well as HBM.
“As it is, the global semiconductor industry is demonstrating its strong fundamentals and growth potential supporting the diverse range of disruptive applications emerging from the AI wave.
“As forecasted, the semiconductor test equipment are projected to rise 7.4% in 2024, while assembly and packaging equipment sales are predicted to increase 10.0% for the same period, and this momentum shall continue into 2025 due to increased demand for advanced logic and memory applications,” Pentamaster said.
Despite market fluctuations and industry challenges, Pentamaster recognises the strong foundation of the electric vehicle (EV) market, supported by regulations, expanding charging infrastructure, industry investments, and growing consumer demand for affordable, eco-friendly options.
“These ongoing developments are expected to sustain a considerable amount of business opportunities for the group to navigate uncertainties and capitalise on emerging prospects,” it said.
In the second quarter ended June 30, Pentamaster’s net profit fell 15.9% to RM19.9mil, or earnings per share of 2.80 sen compared with RM23.6mil, or 3.33 sen.
Revenue for the period fell to RM171.4mil against RM176.9mil posted a year ago.
For the first half, it posted a lower net profit of RM39.3mil from RM44.9mil while revenue was flat at RM342.16mil against RM342.19mil.
Pentamaster said although the group expects a challenging business environment in the second half of the year, it remains steadfast in its commitment to demonstrating resilience and agility in navigating this complex landscape.
“As it is, the group’s primary focus is to ensure its core businesses remain robust and adaptable in the face of these challenges while continuing to pursue business diversification to explore new opportunities within its established markets. Through these comprehensive efforts, the group is determined to sustain growth and maintain stability to weather the challenging conditions ahead,” it said.
