KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 14): Loss-making Ta Win Holdings Bhd said its founder Chen His-Tao has resigned as deputy chairman in the copper products manufacturer.

In a filing today, Ta Win said 79-year-old Chen resigned due to personal reasons, with “priority towards family’s needs”.

Chen, once the largest shareholder in Ta Win, currently holds a 5.18% direct and 8.49% indirect stake in the company, according to a filing dated July 3.

It was reported in 2017 that Ta Win could go upstream in the copper business under the direction of its new substantial shareholder, businessman Datuk Yeo Boon Leong.

As at Jun 28, Yeo has upped his holdings in the company to 1.31% direct and 31.06% indirect stake.

In a related matter, Ta Win saw its net loss widen to RM1.54 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 (2QFY18), from a loss of RM698,000 the year before, as quarterly revenue dipped 8.29% to RM82.07 million from RM89.49 million, due to “seasonality”.

Losses per share widened to 2.2 sen, from 1.06 sen previously. It is Ta Win’s fourth consecutive quarterly loss.

For its cumulative six-month period ended June 30, 2018 (1HFY18), Ta Win’s net loss widened to RM1.81 million from RM888,000 the year before, despite revenue inching 0.39% higher to RM174.51 million, from RM173.83 million.

On prospects, Ta Win said it is in the midst of securing additional trade lines, “in order to facilitate planned increases in production and sales volume”.

The firm also aims to secure new orders, and is reviewing alternatives to expand production. “Simultaneously, it is exploring new overseas market potential and will continue with its measures to control its operational costs by enhancing productivity,” the filing added.

Shares of Ta Win rose 5.5 sen or 9.02% to 6.5 sen today, with 3.81 million shares traded, giving it a market capitalisation of RM48.1 million.