Ellipsiz more than doubles net profit in third quarter ending March 31

SEMICONDUCTOR testing firm Ellipsiz, which was in the news last month when the managing director of Lum Chang Holdings David Lum Kok Seng made a big investment in the company, more than doubled its net profit in its third quarter which ended on March 31, to S$1.23 million from S$555,000 a year ago. This 123 per cent jump net profit happened despite a 22 per cent fall in revenue to S$25.63 million from S$33.01 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014.

During the period, gross profit was at S$9.52 million, up 5 per cent from S$9.04 million one year ago. Earnings per share (EPS) during the three-month period was 0.22 Singapore cents, up from 0.10 Singapore cents, one year ago.

In the nine months ending March 31, the company's net profit was S$4.68 million, down 42 per cent from S$8.08 million in the nine months ending March 31, 2014. Revenue during the period was down 21 per cent to S$85.13 million from S$107.15 million in the year-ago period.

According to the company, the decline in revenue in the nine-month period was attributable mainly to the 45 per cent drop in revenue of the distribution and services (DSS) business, resulting from the divestment of facilities and communication activities during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. The decrease was partly compensated by 15 per cent growth from probe card solutions (PCS), particularly with the added revenue from acquired businesses since Aug 30, 2014.

Gross profit for the nine month period was S$30.45 million, up 14 per cent from S$26.75 million in the nine months ending March 31, 2014. The company's EPS for the period was 0.85 Singapore cents, down from 1.46 Singapore cents in the year-ago period.