SEMICONDUCTOR equipment maker AEM Holdings on Friday (Aug 11) reported net profit of S$19.7 million for the first half of its 2023 financial year, a 76 per cent drop from S$82.8 million a year prior. 

 

This comes on the back of the group&rsquo s H1 revenue almost halving to S$275.2 million, from S$540.5 million in the year-ago period.

 

Earnings per share slipped to S$0.0637 for the half year, from S$0.2678 for H1 FY2022.

 

No dividend was declared for the period under review, as a &ldquo prudent measure to preserve cash for working capital requirement&rdquo , said the group. 

 

In a bourse filing, AEM attributed the steep declines to a slowdown in the semiconductor industry, where there is a surplus of inventory. This has resulted in &ldquo low test equipment utilisation and constrained test equipment capital expenditure budgets at the leading device manufacturers,&rdquo it said. 

 

The group noted that industry players have looked to weather this period of &ldquo inventory digestion&rdquo by delaying device releases reducing capital expenditure spending and renewing their focus on operational efficiency. 

 

&ldquo While the inventory digestion is expected to continue through 2023, the group believes it is well-positioned to take advantage of the semiconductor volume growth that is expected to return to (the industry) in 2024,&rdquo said AEM.