KUALA LUMPUR: VItrox Corp Bhd posted third quarter earnings that rose 41% from the year-ago quarter to RM22.41mil on better sales of its Automated Board Inspection (ABI) and Machine Vision System (MVS) businesses.Revenue for the quarter rose to RM84.36mil from RM57.65mil year-on-year, while revenue from the ABI and MVS business units rose 55% and 30% respectively owing to higher demand from a wider customer base and positive acceptance of its products.For the cumulative first three quarters of 2017, Vitrox posted revenue of RM231.6mil compared to RM170.32mil posted in the previous corresponding period. Net profit for the nine months period jumped 35.8% to RM62.32mil.Earnings per share (EPS) rose to 4.77 sen for the quarter, bringing year-to-date EPS to 13.26 sen, versus 9.8 sen a year ago.The company has declared an interim dividend of 1.5 sen, although the entitlement and payment dates are yet to be determined.Moving forward, the group will focus on market expansion activities, customer relationship building and production innovation. "Besides that, the Group has taken steps to minimise its net monetary assets in order to mitigate the financial impacts arising from currency fluctuation," it said.Vitrox ended 11 sen lower at RM5.57 on Thursday, with 313,100 shares done.

Source: The Star November 16, 2017 09:56 UTC