KUALA LUMPUR (April 27): Unisem (M) Bhd’s net profit plunged 80.56% to RM9.86 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 (1QFY2023) compared with RM50.69 million in the same quarter last year.

Quarterly revenue also fell 16.59% to RM354.05 million from RM424.44 million. Earnings per share declined to 0.61 sen from 3.14 sen in 1QFY2022.

The decrease in earnings for the quarter under review was mainly due to lower sales volume, in line with softer market conditions, the group said in a Bursa Malaysia filing on Thursday (April 27).

Nonetheless, Unisem declared a first interim dividend of two sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2023. The dividend, with an ex-date of May 12, will be paid on May 26.

“Despite the soft demand for the products and services of the group in the first financial quarter, the directors expect the performance of the group to improve in the next financial quarter,” Unisem said.

At the time of writing on Thursday, Unisem was trading down 16 sen or 5.33% to RM2.84, with some 2.78 million shares traded.

At the current price, the counter is valued at RM4.58 billion. It is currently trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82 times, with a dividend yield of 1.76%.