Semiconductor manufacturer, AIC Corp Bhd, has lined up several initiatives to ensure it remains profitable this year. The company returned to the black last year.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2009, its pre-tax profit rose to RM10.681 million from RM649,000 in the same period of 2008.

AIC's turnover rose to RM133.38 million from RM126.472 million previously. Last year's result was one which saw the company returning to full-year profit since 2002.

AIC planned to expand the existing semiconductor capacity as well as precision tooling and automation machines, a move which will boost capacity by nearly 20 to 30 per cent in the near future.
The company which is currently running at a high utilisation rate, is finalising all related investment for gradual expansion, to be implemented in the next two quarters. It will add a more high-value production line-up and produce products needed by customers to remain competitive.

AIC would increase the mix of its products consisting the quad flat no lead (QFN) packages, radio frequency identification (RFID) modules and chip-on-board. QFN packages physically and electrically connect integrated circuits to printed circuit boards, while RFID is an electronic device that consists of a small chip and an antenna.

AIC posted a pre-tax profit of RM3.696 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010 from a pre-tax loss of RM1.924 in the same quarter last year. Its revenue rose to RM41.03 million from RM23.074 million previously due to an overall improvement in demand as a consequence of the improving global economy.