KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — UWC Bhd recorded a net profit of more than double to RM27.24 million for the second quarter ended January 31, 2021 (Q2 FY21) from RM13.31 million in the same period last year against a backdrop of strong global demand in the semiconductor industry.

Revenue also increased to RM77.81 million from RM54.94 million previously.

“The higher revenue generated was mainly derived from the development in semiconductor industry and life science industry, which contributed for 59.0 per cent and 32.8 per cent of the total revenue respectively,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

According to the integrated engineering support services provider, UWC’s priority in quality and productivity enhancements increased production utilisation, while effective operation and cost management also contributed to the improved bottom line.

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“The higher performance also attributed to the lower depreciation expenses incurred and scrap income earned in the current quarter as compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year,” it added.

For the cumulative six-month period ended January 31, 2021, UWC saw its net profit rise to RM48.95 million from RM24.53 million previously, while revenue improved to RM149.31 million from RM101.85 million.

On prospects for its semiconductor segment, UWC said chip testers and test handler sales were mainly driven by the increasing usages of technology applications such as automotive, Artificial Intelligence (AI), smart devices, 5G, cloud storage for data centres and various other applications which required processor chips.

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“We foresee a stronger demand for these testers in the coming quarters, particularly the introduction of technology trends being accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.

“In addition, the stronger demand for chip testers and test handlers are further fuelled by the global shortage of semiconductor chips for the automotive industry, which is increasingly reliant on chips as it ramps up electric car production in the near future,” it said.

Meanwhile, the group is expected to commence mass production of the autonomous vehicle reliability chip testers by end of second half 2021.

“We are also in the process of developing 5G NR millimetre wave testers with our customer which would be the current fastest tester globally as of today,” it said.

As for its life-science and medical technology segments, UWC believes that demand for Covid-19 related virus test equipment would continue to be robust amid the global effort to restrain the pandemic.

“Given our involvement in the manufacturing of such equipment, the group expects sustainable substantial growth in the coming years as the application of this test equipment will be able to cater to other or new virus strands,” it said. — Bernama