Ayala’s IMI losses widen to $3.7M

MANILA, Philippines — The manufacturing arm of the Ayala Group widened its losses in the first quarter as a result of selling its shares in an electronics design firm that used to help generate more revenues for the company.

Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc.’s (IMI) stock exchange filing on Friday showed that net loss in the January to March period ballooned nearly five times to $3.7 million from $749,000.

IMI and minority shareholders of STI Enterprises Ltd. sold all their shares in the latter to Rcapital, a London-based private investment firm, in August last year.

The Ayala-led company acquired STI in 2017, but IMI said the pandemic and supply chain issues “delayed STI’s ability to achieve the targets we set during its acquisition.”

READ: Ayala’s IMI concludes divestment of British subsidiary

Revenues likewise dropped by 16 percent to $290 million due to the STI divestment.

IMI specializes in quality electronics for the automotive, industrial, and aerospace markets. It currently has 21 manufacturing plants across nine countries.

The automotive segment saw a 6-percent rise in revenues during the quarter as the European market recovered. IMI did not provide exact figures.

READ: IMI of Ayala Group inks deal to produce Zero e-motorcycles in PH

The company earlier partnered with California-based Zero Motorcycles to launch the Philippines’ first high-powered e-bike manufacturing plant in Laguna province. It is expected to generate P3.5 billion in annual sales.

Meanwhile, the industrial segment “remains challenged, as IMI clients are still seeing softness in their end-consumer markets.”

“This has delayed the depletion of existing stocks in the supply chain and reduced [orders],“ it said.