Aztech Global has reported a slight growth of 0.2% in net profit to $42.9 million for the 1HFY2023 ended June 30, compared to the same period last year.
Revenue stood at $388.6 million, up 6.6% y-o-y, driven by a 7.3% y-o-y increase in sales of IoT devices and data-communication products to $380.7 million that contributed about 98.0% of the group’s total revenue for 1HFY2023.
For the period, Aztech’s ebitda increased by 1.3% y-o-y to $55.7 million. Basic earnings per share (EPS) increased ever so slightly to 5.56 cents for 1HFY2023 from 5.55 cents in 1HFY2022, while its net asset value (NAV) per share as at June stood at 40 cents from 37 cents as at Dec 31, 2022.
Aztech’s balance sheet remains healthy with cash and cash equivalents of $181.0 million as well as net cash of $201.8 million as at June 30, while accumulated profits increased by 32.4% to $128.0 million as of the same date.
Notwithstanding the tough business conditions, Aztech says its order book remains strong. It had secured a total of $594.5 million orders as at July 21, with a significant portion of its order book scheduled for completion in FY2023 across manufacturing facilities in Dongguan, China and Johor, Malaysia.
At the group’s new Pasir Gudang facility in Johor, Malaysia, the team has commenced pilot plant trials and is committed to getting the plant ready for production that is aligned with customers’ requirements and schedule to support Aztech’s growth and production diversification strategy of its customers.
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In view of the resilient 1HFY2023 performance, healthy balance sheet and after considering the capital requirements of the group’s operations, Aztech’s board of directors has declared a one-tier tax-exempt cash dividend of 3 cents a share, amounting to approximately $23.2 million or about 54% payout from its earnings for 1HFY2023.
The record and payment date for the interim dividend is on Aug 1 and Aug 23, respectively, and shares of the company will trade on ex-dividend basis on July 31.
“We have delivered another resilient set of performance, and are glad that our Board has declared an interim dividend of 3.0 cents a share to reward our shareholders. We remain committed to growing our business sustainably in the IoT space through continuous product and manufacturing development and innovation to ride on opportunities ahead,” says Aztech chairman and CEO Michael Mun.
Shares in Aztech closed 0.5 cents higher or 0.72% up at 70 cents on July 21.
