Frontken earnings soar on improved results by subsidiaries

PETALING JAYA: Frontken Corp Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2018 jumped 65% to RM15.19mil from RM9.19mil in the previous corresponding period, mainly due to improved performances by its subsidiaries in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the semiconductor firm said its wholly-owned subsidiary Frontken (Singapore) Pte Ltd had dis- posed of its entire 49% stake in a Thailandbased associate company, which resulted in a gain on disposal of RM650,000.

Revenue in the third quarter increased to RM85.86mil from RM78.62mil a year earlier.

“As a result of the growth of the semiconductor business, the group’s subsidiaries in Taiwan and Singapore achieved an improved performance of 3.8% and 10.7%, respectively, compared to the preceding year’s corresponding quarter.

“Our subsidiaries in Malaysia and the Philippines also recorded better performance due to new works secured in light of recovery in the oil and gas industry,” it said.

For the nine-month period ended Sept 30, 2018, Frontken’s net profit grew to RM33.57mil from RM20.03mil in the previous corresponding period, while revenue improved to RM238.55mil from RM216.20mil previously.

On its prospects, Frontken said it anticipated overall business conditions for the remaining three months of its current financial year to remain positive.

“To that end, the group is cautiously optimistic that its performance for the rest of the year will be satisfactory.

“The group will also continue to be vigilant in its cost management and strive to improve on its efficiency.

“Our priority will be to continue focusing on the quality of services and efficiencies so as to maintain competitiveness,” it said.

Frontken has declared an interim single-tier dividend of 0.7 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2018.

“The entitlement and payment dates will be announced at later,” it said.