SINGAPORE (May 8): Ellipsiz, the probe card and solutions provider to the semiconductor manufacturing industry, reported a 21% fall in earnings for the nine months ended March to $4.6 million from a year ago.
Revenue of the group declined 2% at $86.8 million for 9M17 compared to $88.5 million in 9M16. Revenue from Distribution & Services solution (DSS) decreased by 6%, while Probe Card solutions (PCS) was relatively flat.
Ellipsiz says PCS saw good revenue growth in Japan and Singapore although its activities in Taiwan slowed down after a few quarters of good growth. DSS recorded a sizeable order in the second quarter of FY16 but no similar order was received during the current financial period, thus leading to the lower DSS revenue.
Comparing to the quarterly revenue a year ago, 3Q17 revenue was a decrease of 5% from $30.9 million to $29.5 million. As a result of the lower revenue and 1% decline in gross profit margin to 35%, gross profits for 3Q17 decreased by 8%.
Melvin Chan, CEO of Ellipsiz, said: “The Group remains cautious of its operating environment and performance prospects for the rest of 2017. We expect the continuing inventory adjustment and cautious capital equipment spending by our customers to have impact on our business activities. Hence, we remain committed to manage our businesses and resources prudently, while exploring sustainable and synergistic opportunities for growth.”
Shares of Ellipsiz closed at 58 cents on Monday before the announcement.