AEM's profit skyrocketed 147.9% to $55.28m in H1

All of its business segments saw an uptick in revenues.

AEM Holdings saw its net profit surge 147.9% YoY to $55.28m in H1 from $22.3m in H1 2019, an announcement revealed. Likewise, net profit margin edged up from 14.8% to 20.2% over the same period.

The profit jump was thanks to higher revenue, favourable product mix and operational cost efficiency, AEM said. Revenue skyrocketed 81.7% YoY to $273.7m in H1 from $150.64m as all of its business segments saw an uptick in revenues.

Revenue from the equipment systems solutions (ESS) business jumped 84.5% YoY in H1 to $265.5m and accounted for 97% of the group’s total revenue, due to an increase in sales for equipment and consumables.

All other segments, namely microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS), system level test and inspection (SLT-i), and test and measurement solutions (TMS) recorded growth in sales in in the same period, with increased sales to new customers especially for the SLT-i and TMS segments.

Fully diluted earnings per share, after deducting any provision for preference dividends, was 20.13 cents for H1, compared to 8.18 cents for H1 2019.

The group’s operating cash flow hit $72m, whilst cash and cash equivalents jumped 28.1% from 31 December 2019 to $137.9m as at end-June3. Net asset value per share was 67.8 cents, compared to 49.8 cents as at 31 December 2019.

AEM proposed an interim dividend of 5 cents apiece, representing a payout of 25% for H1.

Following this, AEM stated that the demand for their semiconductor test solutions continues to be robust. As a result, its FY2020 revenue guidance is revised upwards to between $460m to $480m, and CAPEX to remain at approximately $4m.

AEM is also projecting its research and development (R&D) expenditure to increase in H2 by $4.2m. The group adds that they will continue to expand strategically through mergers and acquisitions and in-house technology development.