KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 16): Higher revenue from two business divisions lifted Vitrox Corp Bhd’s third quarter net profit by 41.18% to RM22.41 million from RM15.87 million a year earlier.

Earnings per share for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 rose to 4.77 sen from 3.39 sen previously, the vision inspection system developer said in a stock exchange filing.

Vitrox has declared a tax-free interim dividend of 1.5 sen per share, with the entitlement and payment dates to be finalised later.

The group’s revenue for the third quarter rose 46.34% to RM84.36 million, from RM57.65 million in the same quarter last year, driven by its automated board inspection (ABI) and machine vision system (MVS) divisions.

Revenue from ABI and MVS recorded an increase of 55% and 30% respectively on higher demand from widened customer base and positive acceptance of its products.

Vitrox said the third quarter performance supported nearly half of the gains recorded in the group’s cumulative net profit for the first three quarters, which rose 35.8% year-on-year to RM62.32 million, from RM45.89 million previously.

Cumulative revenue rose 35.98% to RM231.6 million from RM170.32 million previously. “The increase was mainly due to increase in customer orders for ABI, MVS and electronics communication system,” said Vitrox.

Moving on, the group said it will continue to focus on market expansion activities, customer relationship building and product innovation. "Besides that, the group has taken steps to minimise its net monetary assets in order to mitigate the financial impact arising from currency fluctuation," it added.

Shares of Vitrox closed 11 sen or 1.94% lower today at RM5.57, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.62 billion.