KUALA LUMPUR (April 24): Automotive components manufacturer EP Manufacturing Bhd saw its first financial quarter ended Mar 31, 2015 (1QFY15)’s net profit fall 23.13% on-year to RM2.51 million, from RM3.27 million.

Consequently, earnings per share dropped to 1.58 sen, from 2.05 sen.

Revenue for the quarter under review however rose 15.89% to RM134.82 million, from RM116.33 million last year, according to the group’s quarterly report to Bursa Malaysia today.

EP Manufacturing (fundamental: 0.65; valuation: 3.0) said the decline of profit was due to its sales mix.

A major drag to its operating profit was a 76.51% hike in depreciation and amortisation to RM16.54 million, from RM9.37 million in 1QFY14, its report showed.

EP Manufacturing said the operating environment for its business will continue to be challenging, but believes demand for local automotive will remain positive.

“The board remains confident that the group will continue to register satisfactory performance,” the group said.

EP Manufacturing fell half sen or 0.6% to 83 sen today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM132.97 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)