MCE earnings more than double in Q3 despite slight revenue dip
KUALA LUMPUR: MCE Holdings Bhd's net profit for the third quarter ended April 30, 2025, jumped 151 per cent year-on-year to RM6.08 million, driven by a sharp increase in other income and lower raw material and employee costs.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the group said it recorded other income of RM876,000 compared to RM265,000 a year earlier, while raw material costs fell to RM18.3 million from RM19.4 million. Employee benefits expenses also declined to RM7.64 million from RM8.12 million previously.
Quarterly revenue, however, slipped 1.6 per cent to RM36.8 million from RM37.4 million, primarily due to weaker demand for certain automotive parts.
MCE attributed the stronger bottom line to improved operational efficiency and higher interest income, in addition to cost savings.
Group managing director Goh Kar Chun said the results reflected the company's resilience amid a challenging environment.
"We continued to deliver a solid performance amidst an evolving yet challenging operating environment. Our results reflect the strength of our fundamentals and the discipline of our team as we head into the final quarter of the financial year," he said in a statement.
Earnings per share rose to 4.43 sen from 1.96 sen.
No dividend was declared for the quarter under review. For the nine-month period, MCE paid a total dividend of RM1.85 million.
As at April 30, the group's cash and bank balances stood at RM19.65 million, up from RM15.83 million at end-July 2024. Short-term investments rose sharply to RM89.64 million from RM33.66 million, bringing total current assets to RM149.3 million.
Total liabilities increased to RM74.3 million from RM61 million, mainly due to higher term loans, which more than doubled to RM22.4 million from RM12 million previously.
Looking ahead, MCE expects future earnings to benefit from the launch of Perodua's first electric vehicle by year-end, for which it will supply key components including multimedia units and the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
The group noted it has been appointed to supply a wide range of parts for the model, including multimedia display units, instrument panel clusters, switches, interior lighting, and ADAS modules.
Its upcoming Serendah manufacturing plant, slated to begin operations by end-2025, is also expected to boost production capacity and support next-generation automotive technologies.
Goh said the new facility "will significantly increase MCE's capacity, enabling it to scale up its offerings in high-value automotive electronics."
The Serendah plant would also support MCE's diversification into non-automotive contract manufacturing through a joint venture with Hong Kong-based Sounding Industries Ltd and enhance its presence in the ADAS segment via a collaboration with Nanjing Chuhang Technology Co Ltd.
"Looking ahead, MCE remains focused on driving sustainable long-term growth by strengthening our technological capabilities and capturing emerging opportunities across Malaysia and key export markets," Dr Goh said.
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