Vitrox 4Q19 profit down 39% on weaker sales

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): Vitrox Corp Bhd’s fourth quarter net profit declined 39.58% to RM17.79 million, from RM29.45 million the year before, no thanks to lower sales volume and unfavourable product mix.

Earnings per share for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2019 fell to 3.78 sen from 6.26 sen previously, the company said in a filing.

Revenue fell 14% to RM95.1 million, from RM110.58 million in the year-ago’s fourth quarter, because of a decline in customer demand by 13% and 20% from Automated Board Inspection (ABI) and Machine Vision System (MVS) respectively.

For the whole of FY19, Vitrox’s net profit fell 24.59% to RM79.65 million, from RM105.48 million in FY18, which it attributed to lower revenue — down 13.96% to RM339.59 million from RM394.68 million.

On prospects, Vitrox said it remains focused on market expansion activities, customer relationship building and product innovation for growth.

“Besides that, the group has taken steps to minimise its net monetary assets in order to mitigate the financial impacts arising from currency fluctuation,” it said.

Shares in Vitrox Corp fell 13 sen or 1.48% to RM8.67 today, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM4.08 billion.