KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 8): Aemulus Holdings Bhd has incurred its third straight quarterly loss amid cautious capital expenditure spending from customers expecting a slowdown in the semiconductor industry and deferment of delivery due to a slowdown in customers’ expansion pace.

The Penang-based equipment vendor saw its net loss widening to RM6.9 million for the third quarter ended June 30, 2023 (3QFY2023), from RM4.69 million in 2QFY2023 and RM4.77 million in 1QFY2023. The group had reported a net profit of RM1.7 million a year earlier for 3QFY2022.

In a bourse filing, the group said the latest loss was also due to higher operating expenses (including staff-related costs), research and development (R&D) expenses, and finance cost.

Revenue for 3QFY2023 shrunk 77.36% to RM3.86 million from RM17.04 million a year earlier.

For the cumulative nine months, Aemulus reported a net loss of RM16.36 million as opposed to a net profit of RM10.84 million in the same period of FY2022, as revenue fell 65.35% to RM18.99 million from RM54.82 million due to the slowdown in customers’ expansion pace.

Aemulus expects 4QFY2023 to also see a slow recovery. “Business sentiments continue to be weak with no sign of increasing demand for all market segments at the moment,” it said.

On a positive note, the group said business development and customer engineering engagement activities are progressing well and as expected.

“As a measure to counter the slower performances of our conventional market segments, we are in the midst of launching new products to enter electric vehicle-related semiconductor and microcontroller or memory market segments which require minimum customisation of existing products,” it added.

Aemulus’ shares settled one sen or 3.03% higher at 34 sen on Tuesday (Aug 8), valuing the group at RM227.59 million. The stock has declined 30.61% since early this year.