Quarterly revenue shrank by 18.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM378.7 million from RM464.1 million.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the group attributed the fall in profit and revenue due to lower sales volume on softer market demand.
Its cumulative six months year-to-date earnings took a 86.83% nosedive to RM33.78 million from RM256.55 million in the corresponding period last year.
Meanwhile, earnings per share for the quarter amounted to 1.48 sen, down 88.4% y-o-y from 12.76 sen in Q1 FY2022.
Unisem’s earnings plunge was partly due to the high base effect as it realised a huge disposal gain in Q2 FY2022.
Its Indonesian indirect subsidiary PT Unisem had in Q2 FY2022 completed the sale of its land and building in Batam, resulting in a gain on disposal of RM131.78 million. The net proceeds from the RM141.35 million disposal had been fully settled in cash.
PT Unisem was still reporting a profit of RM135.46 million in Q2 FY2022, thanks to the disposal gain.
This is the second consecutive quarter that Unisem had posted a lower profit year-on-year. Its net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 (Q1 FY2023) came up to RM9.9 million, dropping 80.6% y-o-y from the RM50.7 million it posted for the first quarter of last year.
Despite the disappointing Q2 results, the board approved a second interim dividend of two sen per share, which will be disbursed on Aug 25, 2023.
On its outlook, Unisem said the group’s performance will remain muted in the near-term due to the challenging macroeconomic environment.
Global downturn
However, Unisem is not the only semiconductor company in Malaysia facing a slump. Consulting firm Gartner Incorporated’s latest projection anticipates a significant 11.2% slump in the global semiconductor revenue for 2023.
“As economic headwinds persist, weak end-market electronics demand is spreading from consumers to businesses, creating an uncertain investment environment,” said Gartner practice vice-president Richard Gordon.
“In addition, an oversupply of chips, which is elevating inventories and reducing chip prices is accelerating the decline of the semiconductor market this year,” he added.
Unisem shares fell 11 sen or 3.3% to close at RM3.22, valuing the group at RM5.19 billion.