IMI’s first half profit falls 33% on China slowdown

MANILA, Philippines–Ayala-led Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) reported a 33 percent year-on-year decline in first-semester net profit to $2.1 million primarily due to lower capacity utilization in its China facilities.

AFP FILE PHOTO

IMI also affirmed on Thursday its commitment to conduct an initial public offering (IPO), in order to comply with the local stock requirement when it listed by introduction in 2010. “Delisting is out of the question. It’s not that we don’t want to comply. We want to do it but we want to time it right,” IMI chief finance officer Jerome Tan said in a phone interview.

A leading worldwide provider of electronics manufacturing services and power semiconductor assembly and test services, IMI’s revenues for the first six months grew by 8 percent year-on-year to $350.5 million. This was attributed by the company to strong business expansion in Europe, Mexico and the Philippines.

“We continue to grow our top line and record a profit despite the unbalanced growth of the global economy. While we are affected by the slowdown in China, we take advantage of opportunities in regional manufacturing in North America and Europe,” IMI president Arthur Tan said in a press statement.

IMI continues to expand its operations in Bulgaria and Mexico to accommodate additional orders from its customers in the automotive sector. But in China, Tan said IMI had started to consolidate operations to lessen the impact on its bottom line.

“Our diversification strategy is doing us good in these volatile times,” said Tan. “We are aggressively pursuing opportunities to increase both revenues and profit margins as we leverage our broadened geographic presence and expanded capabilities.”

IMI’s China and Singapore operations accounted for 35 percent of first -semester revenues at $122.2 million, declining by 9 percent year-on-year due primarily to reduced sales in the telecommunication infrastructure segment.

Operations in Europe and Mexico recorded $117.1 million in combined revenues, an increase of 37 percent year-over-year due to the continued expansion of the company’s automotive business.

Meanwhile, IMI’s Philippine operations posted $88.4 million in revenues, 11 percent higher year-on-year growth because of strong programs in the computing, consumer, and industrial segments.

Subsidiary PSi Technologies generated $23 million in revenues, 8-percent down from last year.