UMS Holdings reports 86% drop in Q4 net profit

MAINBOARD-listed UMS Holdings' net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 slumped 86 per cent year on year to S$1.26 million from S$9.24 million a year ago.

The bottom line was hit by a one-off S$7 million impairment of goodwill in subsidiary Kalf Engineering and investment in associate company JEP, as well as a S$2.5 million share of goodwill impairment in JEP.

Revenue rose 9 per cent to S$44.09 million on the back of increased semiconductor demand, while earnings per share worked out to 0.24 Singapore cent, down from 1.72 cents a year ago.

For the full year, net profit was nine per cent higher at S$36.47 million, due to higher revenue and improved gross material margins. Revenue was 25 per cent higher at S$164.44 million.

A final dividend of one Singapore cent per share has been proposed. This is down from a final dividend of two cents per share and a special dividend of 0.5 cent per share last year.

UMS chief executive Andy Luong said: "The group is confident that aviation and aerospace demand in the longer term will recover when international travel resumes; and that the impairment in JEP will be written back."

UMS also expects growth in the semiconductor industry to remain robust this year.

Shares in UMS closed at S$1.26 on Thursday, up 2 cents or 1.61 per cent.