JF Technology Berhad’s (JF Tech) net profit for the first quarter (1QFY24) for the period ended 30 September 2023 came in at RM3.1 million versus RM4.4 million last year, down by 29.5%.
In a statement today (Nov 15), the group also said it posted a revenue of RM10.7 million for the current quarter under review.
“This was lower than the RM11.6 million recorded a year ago as the demand for test contacting sockets remains affected by the slowdown in the semiconductor industry.
“Nevertheless, improved contribution from the test interface products division and manufacturing facility in Kunshan, China enabled us to partially counterbalance the effects of the slowdown.
Subsequently, this led to a change in product mix contribution with higher contributions from the said divisions. While these businesses have been gaining good traction but have yet to reach optimal level,” it said.
Its managing director Datuk Foong Wei Kuong said the global semiconductor industry appears to be nearing the end of a downcycle and is expected to begin to recover in 2024 according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International.
“This promising outlook is a positive indicator for both the industry and for the group. With ready capacity, we are well-positioned to ride the forthcoming wave of recovery.
“At the same time, our long-term prospects are also bolstered by the Group’s presence in China on the back of continued investment into the semiconductor sector. The utilization of our China facility has been increasing and we anticipate this upwards trajectory to continue in FY24,” he said.
On the other hand, the group’s new facility in Kota Damansara is on track to be completed by end of 2023, with a total built-up area to a total of 121,000 sf.
“Looking ahead, our primary focus remains on the execution of our 6 engines of growth while also advancing our JF 4.0 transformation to evolve into a comprehensive one-stop solution provider.
“We will also harness the competitive edge from our resilient and sustainability business model with recurring and compounding sales of test consumables across diverse industries to bring the group to the next level,” Foong said.
The group added, on a brighter note, net profit for the current quarter under review jumped 34.6% QoQ to RM3.1 million from RM2.3 million in 4QFY23.
Besides that, the group via its wholly-owned subsidiary, JF International Sdn. Bhd. (JFI) had on Nov 13 entered into a joint venture agreement (JVA) with HFC Industry HK Limited (HFCI), a subsidiary of Shenzhen HFC Co, Ltd (Shenzhen HFC) to incorporate HFC Tech Sdn Bhd (HFC Tech), a joint venture company in Malaysia.
Through this joint venture, the Group will be producing materials used in high-end semiconductor chips for artificial intelligence (“AI”) and electric vehicle (EV) applications.
