KUALA LUMPUR: Mi Technovation Bhd is poised to see a strong pick up in the final quarter on the back of stronger contribution from both semiconductor equipment business unit (SEBU) and semiconductor solutions business unit (SSBU).
Public Investment Bank Bhd (PublicInvest) said Mi Technovation's core earnings of RM30.1 million in its nine-month period for financial year 2023 (FY23), down 5.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY), made up only 63 per cent and 53 per cent of the firm's and consensus full-year forecasts respectively.
"Despite the weaker-than-expected results, we keep our estimates unchanged as we expect to see a strong pick-up in the final quarter on the back of stronger contribution from both SEBU and SSBU," it said.
The company's Si Series final test handler for optical sensor and automotive chip testing, which is locally designed and manufactured in its Suzhou plant, has received strong demand.
"Management is confident that the Suzhou plant will turn around this year.
"Meanwhile, its Ai Series bonding equipment namely LAB, LCB and Laser Pin Bonder, which are under the operations at Gyeonggi Korea factory, are gaining traction, driven by the boom in the HPC, memory and artificial intelligence (AI) segments," it said.
Mi Technovation is also expected to see stronger demand for its semiconductor material business unit with new product launches from key customers in the area of mobility and wearables, automotive and AI.
"To ride on the electric vehicle and renewable energy momentum, the SSBU unit has officially launched its investment in Hangzhou for a new research and development center and manufacturing facility for power modules and devices," it added.
PublicInvest maintained an "Outperform" call on the stock with an unchanged target price of RM2.57.