KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 21): Inari Amertron Bhd’s second-quarter net profit fell 19.71% to RM55.09 million, from RM68.61 million a year ago, mainly due to lower revenue volume and changes in product mix. 

Earnings per share for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2018 (2QFY19) dropped to 1.73 sen from 2.23 sen previously, the semiconductor group said in a filling with the stock exchange. 

Revenue fell 20.17% to RM300.15 million, from RM 375.96 million in the previous corresponding quarter. 

The group said this was a historical peak quarter for the group to-date, mainly due to the disposal of assets of a 51%-owned subsidiary during the last financial year and comparatively lower volume loading on a major sensor product. 

Inari declared a second interim dividend of 1.50 sen per share, compared with 2.50 sen last year. This brings the total year to-date dividend payout to 3.10 sen, against 4.8 sen previously. 

For the cumulative six months ended Dec 31, 2018 (1HFY19), Inari’s net profit fell 15.88% to RM115.24 million, from RM136.99 million a year ago. 

Revenue for the six months dropped 16.45 % to RM625.87 million, from RM749.05 million previously. 

On prospects, the group said it sees some challenges in its overall business, in particular in its RF segment for flagship smartphones, while the opto-electronics segment continues to show resilience. 

“For the second half of our financial year [2HFY19], the group expects to maintain a similar performance from continuing manufacturing activities as the first half, while continuing to work towards delivering positive performance with focus on managing costs and margins.

“The group is also working towards implementing Industry 4.0 on a bigger scale throughout the entire group, so as to achieve greater efficiencies to drive down manufacturing costs in the near future,” Inari added.   

Shares of Inari fell six sen or 3.59% to close at RM1.61 today, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM5.10 billion.