Unisem 2Q pre-tax profit rises to RM47.90 mln

KUALA LUMPUR: Unisem (M) Bhd’s pre- tax profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 rose to RM47.90 million from RM41.81 million in the same period last year.

Revenue increased to RM365.74 million from RM320.89 million previously.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Unisem said, the better results were attributable to improved profit margin arising from higher US dollar sales achieved, coupled with the appreciation of US dollar/ ringgit exchange rate, as compared to the prevailing rate in the corresponding period a year ago.

Moving forward, the provider of semiconductor assembly and test services said it expected the performance of the group to remain satisfactory until the end of the financial year. — Bernama SHORT-TERM interbank rates closed steady yesterday on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) intervention to absorb excess liquidity from the financial system.

The liquidity surplus in the conventional system declined to RM32.13 billion from RM36.4 billion in the morning, while in the Islamic system, it fell to RM5 billion from RM8.88 billion previously.

Earlier, BNM conducted four conventional money market tenders and two Qard tenders.

The central bank also conducted a RM29.5 billion conventional money market tender and a RM5 billion Qard money market tender, both for one- day money.

The overnight Islamic reference rate stood at 2.96 per cent, whi le the one-, two- and three- week rates stood at 3.02 per cent, 3.06 per cent and 3.11 per cent, respectively. THE Malaysian rubber market closed mostly higher yesterday, in tandem with the movement of regional rubber futures markets, said a dealer.

The dealer said that the benchmark rubber futures at the Tokyo Commodity Exchange traded mixed in thin trade, offset by a firmer yen against the US dollar.

“Gains were also limited by a fall in oil prices following a recovery in output at Libya’s largest oil field and amid on-going doubts about the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)-led production cuts,” he added.

At noon, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s official physical price for tyre- grade SMR 20 declined six sen to 634 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk gained 17 sen to 526 sen a kg.

The unofficial closing price for tyre-grade SMR 20 improved eight sen to 643.50 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk rose 5.5 sen to 524 sen a kg.