KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 5): Magni-Tech Industries Bhd's net profit slipped 12.8% to RM21.78 million in the second quarter ended Oct 31, 2023 (2QFY2024) from RM24.98 million a year earlier on the back of lower revenue and other income from both its garments and packaging business segments.

Earnings per share dropped to 5.03 sen from 5.76 sen in 2QFY2023, according to the garment supplier's bourse filing on Tuesday.

Quarterly revenue fell 16.2% to RM287.6 million from RM343.03 million in the previous corresponding period, attributed to lower sales orders received. The garment segment, which accounted for about 94.5% of the group's revenue and profit from operations, recorded a 15.6% decrease in revenue to RM266.12 million for 2QFY2024 compared with RM315.58 million a year ago.

At the same time, packaging segment revenue also decreased by 22.1% to RM21.393 million from RM27.452 million for 2QFY2023.

The group declared a second single tier interim dividend of 2.2 sen per share, to be paid on Dec 20.

However, for the six-month period ended Oct 31, 2023 (1HFY2024), Magni-Tech's net profit improved by 11.2% to RM54.51 million from RM49.01 million a year ago, even though revenue slipped 10.5% to RM611.98 million from RM683.94 million.

Looking ahead, the group remains cautiously optimistic about the business outlook for the remaining quarters of FY2024.

"The global economy continues to recover from the pandemic, showing more resilience than expected in the first half of 2023. With the impact of tighter monetary policy becoming increasingly visible and the continued slowdown in China, global growth in 2024 is projected to be lower than in 2023.

"Headline inflation has continued to ease while core inflation remains persistent, driven by the services sector and still relatively tight labour markets. Risks remain skewed to the downside," it said.

Shares in Magni-Tech ended one sen or 0.51% lower at RM1.95, giving the group a market capitalization of RM846.2 million.