KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 26): Unisem (M) Bhd's net profit in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 slumped 70% to RM18.01 million from RM61.73 million a year earlier, on the back of lower revenue of RM356.19 million versus RM439.69 million.

In a bourse filing on Thursday, the semiconductor assembly and test services provider said the decrease in revenue and net profit was primarily attributable to lower sales volume, in line with softer market demand.

Earnings per share dipped to 1.12 sen versus 3.83 sen.

Unisem declared a third interim dividend of two sen per share to be paid on Nov 24.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, Unisem said net profit tumbled to RM51.80 million from RM318.28 million on the back of revenue of RM1.09 billion versus RM1.33 billion.

On its prospects, Unisem said due to the challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, it expects the performance of the group to remain muted in the near term.

The company said it will attempt to limit foreign currency exchange risk by having a natural hedge between its receivables and a portion of its payables/bank borrowings, and may also enter into forward currency exchange contracts.

At the midday break, shares in Unisem gained 0.63% or two sen to RM3.20 with 278,900 shares traded.