KUALA LUMPUR (April 27): Semiconductor company Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd's (MPI) net profit rose 29.3% to RM38.99 million in the third quarter ended March 31, 2016 (3QFY16) from RM30.18 million in 1QFY15, largely due to the strengthening of the US dollar against the ringgit and higher margin products.

Its revenue for the quarter rose marginally by 0.5% to RM353.12 million from RM351.27 million a year ago due to better contribution from Europe, which registered a 17% increase in revenue during the quarter.

It noted contribution from Asia and the US fell 6% and 3% respectively.

MPI declared a second interim dividend of 15 sen per share for the financial year ending June 30, 2016 (FY16), payable on May 31, bringing its year-to-date dividend to 23 sen.

Earnings per share for the quarter rose to 20.53 sen from 15.89 sen in 3QFY15.

For the nine-month period ended March 31, 2016 (9MFY16), its net profit was 60.3% higher at RM118.84 million or 62.57 sen per share from RM74.15 million or 39.05 sen per share in 9MFY15 due to same reason.

Revenue for 9MFY16 climbed 9.8% to RM1.12 billion from RM1.02 billion.

Moving forward, MPI expects the operating environment to remain challenging as the industry is experiencing slower growth coupled with uncertainty in the macro economy.

Nevertheless, the group expects its performance to be satisfactory for the current financial year ending June 30, 2016 (FY16).

Shares in MPI have been on the downtrend since beginning of the year, sliding as much as RM3.50 or 33% to trade at RM7.10 as of midday trading break today.

At RM7.10, it has a market value of RM1.41 billion.