KUALA LUMPUR (May 26): Semiconductor player Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI) net profit in its third quarter ended March 31, 2022 (3QFY22) rose 9.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM81.36 million from RM74.37 million, thanks to improved performance across all geographical segments.

Group revenue rose 16.13% y-o-y to a fresh quarterly record RM611.56 million from RM526.63 million, with revenue for Asia, US and Europe segments up by more than one-fifth, it said.

Quarterly earnings per share rose to 40.98 sen, from 37.55 sen. The company, part of the Hong Leong Group, declared a dividend of 25 sen per share, up from 20 sen per share in 3QFY21, bringing the total to 35 sen in the nine-month period, from 30 sen previously.

While its performance improved on a y-o-y basis, MPI’s net profit of RM81.36 million was down 4.64% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) from its record high of RM85.32 million in 2QFY22, on the back of higher operating costs.

The higher costs more than offset the 0.58% q-o-q growth in revenue to RM611.56 million from RM608.01 million, supported by the increase in US and Europe contributions, while Asia’s revenue came in flat.

The strong performance in the quarter added up to a 26.25% net profit growth in the nine-month period ended March 31, 2022 (9MFY22) to RM248.37 million or RM1.25 per share, from RM196.72 million or 99.49 sen per share. This came concurrent with a 24.32% rise in revenue to RM1.8 billion, from RM1.45 billion.

Despite the solid performance, MPI said it sees satisfactory results in FY22 as “the semiconductor industry continues to experience a challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical environment”.

“This has caused supply chain disruptions, rising inflation and manpower limitations,” it said. “The group will continue to focus on its business strategy and operational efficiencies to ensure sustainability, and strengthen its fundamentals,” it added.

Shares of MPI rose RM1.08 or 3.6% to RM31.10 on Thursday (May 26), giving it a market capitalisation of RM6.53 billion. Year-to-date, the counter is down 36.99%.