KUALA LUMPUR (March 2): Another record-breaking earnings. UWC Bhd's net profit more than doubled to RM27.24 million in the second quarter ended Jan 31, 2021 (2QFY21), compared with RM13.31 million in the previous year's corresponding quarter due to a higher revenue recorded amid strong global demand in the semiconductor industry.

In a filing exchange today, the integrated engineering support services provider said its quarterly revenue leapt 41.6%  to RM77.81 million from RM54.94 million, underpinned by the group's larger involvement in the life science and medical technology industry.

Its earnings per share rose to 4.95 sen from 3.63 sen in the previous year.

On a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, UWC's net profit surged by 25% from RM21.71 million in the preceding quarter on the back of ongoing technological advancement towards automation processes which continued to amplify manufacturing efficiencies.

Meanwhile, quarterly revenue grew by 8.8% to RM77.8 million from RM71.5 million in the preceding quarter, mainly due to the higher demand from customers in the semiconductor industry, as well as the increasing demand for medical technology, laboratory and test equipment in the market amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Notably, this is the seventh consecutive quarter in which UWC sees q-o-q growth.

For the cumulative six-month period ended Jan 31, the group's net profit expanded to RM48.95 million from RM24.53 million while revenue surged to RM149.31 million from RM101.85 million. Subsequently, earnings per share increased to 8.9 sen from 6.69 sen recorded in the preceding year's corresponding period. 

Commenting on the group's earnings, UWC said the group's priority in quality and productivity enhancements, increased production utilisation, effective operations and cost management also contributed to the improved bottom line.

"The higher performance also attributed to the lower depreciation expenses incurred and scrap income earned in the current quarter as compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year," it said.

Moving forward, the group expects more new products in its semiconductor segment as it has seen an increased number of enquiries and orders received from existing and potential customers.

"We are in the process of developing 5G NR millimetre — wave testers with our customer which would be the current fastest tester globally as of today.

"The group's strategy is to stay focused on moving up the value chain and producing more front-end, automated test equipment and 5G test equipment in smart devices," it said.

On capacity expansion, UWC highlighted that it had purchased new automation machines such as robotic arm and cobot for the production floor to boost manufacturing efficiencies.

"The group has completed the construction of the class 10k cleanroom and has conducted training for our production staff specifically for cleanroom operations in early February. Thus, it is ready to cater for front-end semiconductor equipment high level assembly," it said.

As for the life science and medical technology segments, UWC said the demand for Covid-19-related virus test equipment will continue to be robust amid the global efforts to restrain the pandemic.

"Given our involvement in the manufacturing of such equipment, the group expects sustainable substantial growth in the coming years as the application of this test equipment will be able to cater to other/new virus strands," it said.

Shares of UWC traded eight sen or 1.24% higher at RM6.53, giving it a market capitalisation of RM7.19 billion. For the period of one year, the stock has risen by 378%.