Venture Corp H1 profit down 19.7% to S$140 million on lower revenue, demand

TECHNOLOGY company Venture Corporation on Friday (Aug 4) reported a net profit of S$140 million for the first half of the year ended June, down 19.7 per cent from earnings of S$174.3 million in the year-ago period. 

Revenue for the period was down 11.9 per cent to S$1.6 billion from S$1.8 billion.

The company attributed the “weaker set” of financial results for the period under review to softening demand across a majority of its technology domains, as well as the destocking of customers’ inventory. It added that this was also against a high base last year. 

The board of directors has declared an interim dividend of S$0.25 per share on a one-tier tax-exempt basis, unchanged from the interim dividend declared last year. The dividend will be paid out to shareholders on Sep 14, after the book closure date on Sep 4.

The group’s net profit margin for H1 was down to 8.8 per cent, from 9.7 per cent in the same period a year ago.

Venture’s expenses for employee benefits, depreciation and amortisation fell year on year, while foreign currency exchange gains fell on the back of “currency headwinds”. However, the company said positive returns were still maintained.

Research and development expenses and other operating expenses were higher, while investment revenue increased on the back of strong interest income growth as the company continued to capitalise on favourable high interest rates. 

Looking ahead, Venture said it has taken steps to work on new initiatives to drive revenue, profitability and working capital improvement. 

“This includes proactively working with customers and partners who are ‘de-risking’ out of a geographic presence into Venture’s South-east Asian manufacturing sites as well as our supplier base. This will accelerate our ability to capture more market share,” said the group. 

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New customer acquisitions and new product introduction activities are also gaining traction, granting the group opportunities to scale the business, it said. 

Venture added that it will remain focused on staying relevant and impactful, with an unwavering commitment to investing in its people and advanced technology.

“The group is now well-positioned to capitalise on its strengths to deliver long-term, sustainable stakeholder value,” added the company.

Shares of Venture fell 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 to close at S$14.38 on Friday, ahead of the results announcement.