Venture Corp Q2 net profit falls 7.3% to S$90.8m on less R&D work

VENTURE Corp's net profit fell 7.3 per cent to S$90.8 million in the second quarter, as customers required less research and development (R&D) work compared to the same period a year ago.

Revenue in the three months ended June 30 was S$903 million, down 5.1 per cent from the same period a year earlier.

R&D expenditure, which leads product commercialisation, fell 74 per cent to S$8 million. This was due to lower customer requirements for prototyping, tooling, non-recurring engineering, materials and related services, the electronics manufacturing services firm said on Thursday.

Earnings per share was 31.5 Singapore cents, down from 34.1 Singapore cents in the second quarter last year.

An interim dividend of S$0.20 per share has been declared, payable on Sept 19. The dividend was unchanged from last year.

Net asset value per share was S$8.26 as at June 30.

Venture said in its results filing: "The outlook continues to be shrouded by escalating geopolitical tensions and the prolonged trade war, which have adversely impacted the global economy and world trade."

Venture expects the volatile environment to persist, but it will continue to "diversify its value-creation/value-capture pathways", with a focus on selected domains that have growth and value-creation opportunities, it said.

"Strong emphasis will be placed on building new differentiating capabilities to enhance the group's competitiveness," the group said.

Venture shares rose 24 Singapore cents or 1.65 per cent to S$14.76 on Thursday before the results were announced.