GEORGE TOWN: MMS Ventures Bhd
is expected to return to the black in 2024, mainly driven by the medical device industry.
Group managing director T K Sia told StarBiz that the group’s bespoke automation manufacturing system for the medical industry would generate about 40% of its 2024 turnover.
“We are currently supplying to multinational corporations or MNCs involved in the medical device manufacturing business. Some of these are in Malaysia.
“The demand is steady and will gradually improve. We believe our strategy to be profitable this year should be achievable, barring unforeseen circumstances,” Sia said.
In the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, the group posted RM454,708 in net profit on the back of RM5.2mil in revenue against RM407,805 and RM5mil, respectively, in the same period a year ago.
“Malaysia is hosting the Asian Medtech 2024 in Kuala Lumpur in December this year to attract medical investments into the country that will help support the growth of local medical device companies,” he said.
Sia said the mainstay of the group’s business for the past few years has always been associated with smart devices.
“When the industry underwent a downturn, we forayed into other sectors, mainly the medical equipment and energy storage business.”
Sia said the group’s earlier investments in these businesses have essentially paid off, as seen in the current quarter’s commendable results.
“We intend to keep this momentum going. With these new businesses mentioned above, which have kept us busy, we are cautiously optimistic that our prospects for the rest of the year will remain positive,” he said.
For the group’s six months of the 2024 financial year, MMS posted RM1.22mil in net profit on the back of RM10.69mil in revenue, compared to RM115,312 and RM7.99mil, respectively, in the 2023 corresponding period.
According to the Medical Device Authority (MDA), the Asean region with a growing population of over 600 million and a gross domestic product of over US$2.76 trillion, has vast potential for a quality healthcare industry driven by a rise in the middle-class population.
The MDA also said the region would likely see a 10% annual growth in the demand for medical devices.
“Revenue in the medical devices market in South-East Asia is projected to reach US$10.92bil in 2023.
“The market’s largest market is cardiology devices with a projected market volume of US$1.60bil in 2023,” the MDA added.
The MDA said medical device revenue was expected to show a 7.59% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023 to 2028, resulting in a market volume of US$15.74bil by 2028.
Sia said the group has also ventured into battery storage systems.
“We are supplying to a US-based company in Malaysia,” he said.
According to Precedence Research, the global battery market was US$125.35bil in 2023, calculated at US$146.20bil in 2024 and is expected to reach around US$680.85bil by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 16.6% from 2024 to 2034.
The report added that the Asia-Pacific battery market size, estimated at US$70.36bil in 2023, is expected to increase to around US$392.17bil by 2034 at a CAGR of 16.9% from 2024 to 2034.
“In 2023, the Asia-Pacific region was the world’s primary market, accounting for a large share of global battery sales.
“In view of many factors such as urbanisation, industrialisation and increasing household income in emerging countries, supported by desired regulations to attract regional investments, residential, commercial or grid storage is estimated to grow strongly.
“During the forecast period, North America has emerged as the next largest regional battery market,” the report said.
