AEM Holdings Q2 profit climbs 65.4% on sales growth

AEM Holdings, which provides advanced chip testing solutions, posted a 65.4 per cent spike in net profit to S$15.7 million for the second quarter ended June 30, from S$9.5 million a year ago.

Earnings per share stood at 5.81 Singapore cents for the quarter, up from 3.49 cents a year ago, the mainboard-listed company said in a filing during the midday break on Thursday.

Revenue surged more than one-third (34.8 per cent) to S$97.9 million, from S$72.7 million for the previous corresponding period, primarily generated by the equipment systems solutions (ESS) business.

ESS brought in revenue of S$94.9 million during the quarter, up 33.6 per cent from a year ago, mainly due to an increase in orders from AEM's main customer.

The other business segments - system level test and inspection, micro-electro-mechanical systems, and test and measurement solutions - all recorded a growth in sales for the quarter amid more orders from new and existing customers.

An interim cash dividend of two Singapore cents per share was declared for the current financial period, up from 1.5 cents per share a year ago. The dividend represents a pay-out of 24.2 per cent on the first-half net profit, and it will be paid on Sept 13, after books closure on Aug 30.

For the six months to June 30, net profit grew 25.9 per cent to S$22.3 million, while revenue rose 8.9 per cent to S$150.6 million.

AEM said that the first six months of this year has been a record half as its key customer introduces new products based on more advanced semiconductor notes. AEM's test handlers, which are optimised for testing complex logic chips, subsequently saw an increase in demand.

On July 25, the group announced sales orders worth S$255 million for delivery for fiscal 2019, and revised its revenue guidance for the full year to S$265-280 million.

Shares of AEM were trading up four Singapore cents or 3.67 per cent at S$1.13 as at 1.56pm on Thursday, after the results were released.