KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 28): Semiconductor company Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI) saw its net profit for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2015 (2QFY16) soaring 36.9% to RM32.93 million or 17.34 sen per share, due to wider margin products, stronger US dollar and lower material cost.  

It posted a net profit of RM24.06 million or 12.67 sen per share in the previous corresponding quarter.

Quarterly revenue grew 12.23% to RM379.69 million, from RM338.29 million, mainly driven by revenue growth from Asia, the US and Europe.  

No dividend was declared for the current under review.

For the half year of FY16 (1HFY16), MPI's net profit surged 81.6% to RM79.85 million or 42.04 sen per share, from RM43.97 million or 23.16 sen per share last year, helped by the firm US dollar and wider profit margin.  

Cumulative revenue came in 15.06% higher at RM766.34 million, against RM666.01 million in 1HFY15.  

Moving forward, MPI expects the operating environment to remain challenging, as the semiconductor industry is experiencing slower growth, coupled with uncertainty in the macro economy.  

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the board expects the performance of the group to be satisfactory in FY16," it added.

MPI share price finished at RM9.32 as the midday break today, down 24 sen or 2.51%, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.89 billion.

(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.)