KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): QES Group Bhd's net profit jumped by 2.5 times to RM9.52 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY22) from RM3.77 million posted a year ago.

Quarterly revenue for the period jumped 39.3% to RM71.98 million against RM51.67 million in the same quarter last year, attributed to higher sales from QES' distribution division by 29.6% and manufacturing division by 130%.

The increase in sales from the distribution division was mainly due to higher deliveries of equipment in the current quarter, the company said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday (Nov 22).

Meanwhile, the increase in sales of the manufacturing division was mainly due to the higher sales of handling and measurement equipment to semiconductor customers.

Earnings per share grew to 1.14 sen in the current quarter from 0.45 sen a year ago.

In a separate statement, QES said its cash flow and balance sheet remained solid with cash and cash equivalents of RM72.3 million.

The gross gearing ratio also remained at a healthy 0.29 times.

"Although the semiconductor industry's recent outlook has been downgraded especially for memory, PC and mobile phone applications, we continue to see demand from automotive and industrial applications.

"In the longer term, we are still optimistic on the overall semiconductor industry demand outlook given the development and proliferation of electric vehicles, 5G, artificial intelligence, data centres and IoT (Internet of Things) which will require numerous high computing power and chips," said managing director and president Chew Ne Weng.

On prospects, the group said amid mixed news on the semiconductor industry outlook, it expects performance for FY22 to be satisfactory and remains cautiously positive about the prospects for FY23.

QES shares closed 1.82% or one sen higher at 56 sen on Tuesday, giving the company a market value of RM467.12 million.