UMS Holdings

[Boon]

Hi barneyonline,
True, over the past 5~7 years, MM has been growing while UMS stays near flat, but past performances are not indicative of future performances.
If you trust the management guidance below, it means back to GROWTH path again for UMS. Andy is bullish.

It would be interesting to track both performances of MM and UMS going forward. Let the race begin.............
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Outlook
The demand for semiconductor is on a rapid rise, fuelled by the boom in disruptive technology and continuous push for automation and innovation. The largest growth drivers for the industry are mobile devices (including devices using solid state drives), automotive and IoT (Internet of Things).

According to Semiconductor Equipment & Materials International (SEMI), worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment totalled US$41.24 billion in 2016, representing a year-on- year increase of 13%. Fab equipment spending is also expected to reach an industry all-time record of more than US$46 billion in 2017. The value is expected to climb higher in 2018, with spending hitting near the US$50 billion mark.

These buoyant trends augur well for UMS which is well-poised to ride on the growth as it will be stepping up plans to expand production capacity, including a ramp-up in fab activities in the coming months. The group intends to invest a further RM80 million in Penang over the next few years which include building new cleanrooms, take advantage of a larger pool of talent and a more favorable tax status.

Mr Andy Luong, Chief Executive Officer of UMS Holdings, said: “The outlook continues to be positive for the global semiconductor sector which has enabled the Group to accelerate its growth trajectory in both revenue and profit. UMS intends to continue rewarding shareholders with good dividends and has hence proposed an interim tax-exempt dividend of 1 cent to be payable on 27 July, 2017.

“We have also adopted a diversification strategy to broaden our revenue base and income streams as well as to lower exposure risks to any single source or market. Going forward, we will continue to drive growth in the existing semiconductor business segment while pursuing business opportunities in potential growth areas relating to the provision of water and chemical engineering solutions.”

UMS had acquired in March a 51% stake in Kalf Engineering, a company that specialises in water and chemical engineering solutions for the offshore, power generation and chemical industries. Kalf has currently in hand seven projects in Asia, the Middle East and South America worth approximately S$13 million, and is also in the midst of procuring additional projects.

Five of the current projects are expected to be completed in the second half of 2017 with another two in China and Middle East expected to be completed in the second half of 2018. The five projects, scheduled for completion this year, will be expected to contribute to the Group’s financial performance in FY2017. 
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________