Inari Amertron’s profit doubles in 3Q

by **Cals** Fri 16 May 2014, 17:30

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Charles Yong of theedgemalaysia.com

Friday, 16 May 2014 09:53

KUALA LUMPUR: Inari Amertron Bhd doubled its net profit for the third quarter ended March 31, 2014 to RM25.5 million from RM12.4 million in the same period last year, mainly due to revenue growth at its existing business units, the strong US dollar and consolidation with the newly acquired Amertron Group.

Revenue more than tripled in the quarter to RM191.8 million from RM56.8 million previously. The higher revenue was mainly due to its consolidation with Amertron, which contributed RM106.8 million in revenue. Revenue from existing business units also jumped by an impressive 50% or RM28.2 million.

Diluted earnings per share for the quarter was 9.2% higher at RM4.02 compared with RM3.68 in the same quarter last year.

For the nine-month period to March 31 (9MFY14), the group saw net profit jump 151% to RM71.4 million from RM28.5 million in the previous corresponding period. Revenue more than tripled to RM569.8 million from RM173.5 million previously.

The higher revenue was mainly attributed to the consolidation with Amertron as well as higher trading volumes at existing business units.

Diluted earnings per share for 9MFY14 was 36.7% higher at RM11.74 versus RM8.59 in the previous corresponding period.

Inari Amertron also declared a third interim single-tier dividend of 1.2 sen and a special dividend of 0.8 sen per share. This brings FY14’s net dividend per share so far to five sen, up from 3.5 sen in the same period in FY13. Total net dividend in full FY13 stood at 4.5 sen per share.

On its prospects, Inari Amertron said it remains optimistic of maintaining its profitable performance, as it operates in market segments that continue to show good growth in the near future, such as the continued end-user adoption of smart mobile devices globally.

Citing the International Data Corp’s five-year forecast for mobile phone shipments worldwide by device vendors, the group said the worldwide mobile phone market is expected to grow 5.4% this year. Driving volumes higher are smartphones, particularly low-cost smartphones heading for emerging markets.

From 2013 to 2018, mobile phone shipments are expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 4%.

“This market trend supports a positive medium to long term outlook for the group,” it said.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 16, 2014.