Venture Corp H2 profit falls 8.1%

VENTURE Corporation on Friday posted a net profit of S$166.8 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2020, down 8.1 per cent from S$181.5 million in H2 2019.

Revenue decreased 8.6 per cent to S$1.6 billion from S$1.8 billion, as the electronics manufacturing services firm worked to overcome pandemic-related disruptions to global supply chains and factory lockdowns. (see amendment note)

Venture noted that H2 revenue showed a 20.6 per cent improvement compared to H1. This was "a demonstration of Venture's resilience, competency and resourcefulness" despite challenges posed by the pandemic, it said.

Earnings per share was 57.6 Singapore cents, compared to 62.9 cents in the corresponding period of the previous year.

For the full year, net profit fell 18.1 per cent to S$297.3 million from S$363.1 million. Revenue was down 17.1 per cent to S$3 billion from S$3.6 billion.

Earnings per share for the full year was 102.8 Singapore cents, down from 126 Singapore cents a year ago.

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The company intends to scale up its photonics, networking and communications, and advanced semiconductor-related equipment segments to capture opportunities in the electric vehicle industry and the domains of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence.

Venture Corp proposed a final cash dividend of 50 Singapore cents per share to be paid out on May 25. Including an interim dividend of 25 Singapore cents per share paid out earlier, total dividends for FY2020 would amount to 75 Singapore cents per share.

In FY2019, the company paid out total dividends of 70 Singapore cents per share.

Venture shares closed at S$19.20 on Friday, down 50 Singapore cents or 2.54 per cent.

Amendment note: An earlier version of this article stated Venture Corp's revenue in millions. The figures have been corrected to billions.