Published August 8, 2009

Venture's Q2 profit falls 7.1%

By JAMIE LEE

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VENTURE Corporation posted a 7.1 per cent fall in second-quarter net profit and said that customer sentiment appears mixed.

Singapore's largest electronics maker said net profit for the three months ended June 30 stood at $60.9 million, down from $65.6 million a year ago. This translates to earnings of 22.2 cents per share, down from 23.9 cents per share. Revenue dropped 13 per cent to $846 million from $973 million .

On a quarterly comparison though, sales were up 17 per cent from the first quarter of the year, thanks to the demand pick-up for several products and improvement in market share.

The company posted a $365,000 profit under 'other income', which factored in a fair value gain on derivative financial instruments of $12.4 million. In the same period last year, Venture posted an expense of $35.1 million under 'other income' after factoring in a fair value loss of $27.1 million.

Venture also made a foreign currency exchange adjustment loss of $4.28 million, up from $820,000.

It posted $14.9 million in depreciation and amortisation expenses, slipping 1.1 per cent from $15.1 million.

For the six months ended June, net profit fell 27.3 per cent to $88.7 million from $122 million a year ago. Sales in the first half of the year were down 17.8 per cent to $1.57 billion from $1.91 billion.

'Sentiments of the group's customers remained mixed and divergent,' the company said in its financial statement yesterday. 'In general, most are more positive about their second-half business prospects. However, at this point in time, they are not prepared to commit to the pace and trajectory of recovery.'

Venture said it continues to put emphasis on operational efficiency. Total cash stood at $485 million, up 61.3 per cent from a year ago.

No dividend was declared.

Venture shares ended 15 cents lower yesterday at $8.57.