KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): Shares of MMS Ventures Bhd (MMSV) rose as much as 5 sen or 6.3% to 84.5 sen today after being highlighted by Kenanga Investment Bank (Kenanga IB) as a promising stock that is set to ride the projected growth in the semiconductor industry.

At 4.12pm today, the counter had eased to 82.5 sen, still up 3 sen or 3.77%, with 6.35 million shares done. The current price gives it a market value of RM134.48 million.

In a note today, Kenanga IB analyst Desmond Chong said MMSV (fundamental: 3; valuation: 2.1), which focuses on light emitting diode (LED) test and vision inspection solutions, is poised to reap the benefits of the projected 15% growth in worldwide semiconductor equipment sales this year.

Chong also said the LED lighting market value is anticipated to grow at a four-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% through 2018.

“As 60% of MMSV’s total revenue is exposed to the LED of smartphones and automotive segments by end applications, we believe the group, which is positioned in the front-end of semiconductor value chain, is in the sweet spot to ride on the surging wave of these rising trends,” he said.

“We see such positive trend to bode well for MMSV as nearly 90% of the group’s products are catered for LED applications,” he added.

Chong said MMSV has expressed confidence in achieving a 20% growth in its financial year 2015 estimated (FY15E) revenue, even from a high base in financial year 2014 FY14 (an increase of 50%).

He also said the company is a net beneficiary of the appreciating US dollar, as 70% of its revenue is quoted in US dollar, with natural hedging from its raw materials purchases, which makes up about 20% of its total costs.

Chong said MMSV is now at a zero gearing position, with a strong net cash of RM15.7 million as of December 2014.

Although no dividend was declared since financial year 2008, Chong projects MMSV could offer up to 3 sen or 3.8% in dividend yield based on its FY15E free cash flow projection of RM10.5 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)