Ayala unit reports 5-fold profit hike

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala-led Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) posted a hefty income growth in the first semester due to strong demand from telecommunications, automotive and storage device customers.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the global provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and power semiconductor assembly and test services said its first half net income hit $11.3 million, more than five times the $2.1 million earnings a year ago.

Consolidated revenues reached $431 million, up 23 percent from $350.5 million year-on-year.

“We maintain our profitable growth trajectory, driven by increased demand from customers in the telecommunications infrastructure, automotive electronics, and storage device market,” said IMI president and CEO Arthur Tan.

“More important, we have a healthy sales pipeline, especially for the automotive segment,” he added.

In particular, IMI China’s revenues jumped 32 percent to $161 million, boosted by volume expansion for main customers in the telecommunications segment. The China EMS operations accounted for 37 percent of IMI’s total first half revenues.

“The sustained expansion of the automotive business in IMI’s factories in Eastern Europe has resulted in the company’s Europe and Mexico operations generating combined revenues of $137.6 million, an 18-percent increase year-on-year,” IMI said.

IMI’s EMS operations in the Philippines recorded $110.1 million in revenues, up by a quarter from a year ago amid a robust storage device assembly business and an improvement in the automotive electronics business.

Meanwhile, subsidiary PSi Technologies Inc., a power semiconductor, posted a four-percent drop in revenues to $22.1 million.

In the second quarter alone, IMI’s revenues picked up nine percent to $225.2 million from $205.7 million in the preceding quarter.

“IMI’s strategic focus over the last decade has begun to bear fruit, as we continue to develop new business models as well as high value-add services that fit the dynamic markets we serve today,” Tan said.