Ayala's IMI grows in the low teens amid demand for telecom chips in China

Profitability at the electronics manufacturing arm of the Ayala Group nearly tripled last year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc (IMI) said it earned $29.1 million in 2014, or nearly a three-fold rise from the $10.5 million the previous year.

“The year 2014 was a banner year for IMI as we outperformed the EMS industry’s single-digit growth rate and our financial targets. Our global presence and market diversity took advantage of the recovery of the international markets and electronics segments,” said Arthur Tan, IMI president and CEO.

A leading global provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and power semiconductor assembly and test services, IMI has manufacturing facilities in Asia, Europe, and North America, and serves the automotive, industrial, medical, telecommunications infrastructure, storage device, and consumer electronics industries.

Revenue rose by 13 percent to $844.5 million from $745.0 million in 2013. The company’s China operations, which contributed more than a third to total revenue, climbed 18 percent year-on-year to $325.6 million, as telecom operators in the world’s second largest economy rolled out 4G to meet demand.

IMI’s operations in Europe and Mexico, which chipped in 32 percent, grew 14.4 percent year-on-year to $268.6 million amid demand in the automotive sector.

In the Philippines, revenue climbed 8.3 percent year-on-year to $204.9 million amid demand from the storage device and automotive sectrs. Subsidiary PSi Technologies Inc grew 4.3 percent to $44.9 million.

“IMI will continue on a profitable growth track as we continue to grab opportunities for high-value outsourcing in the telecommunications infrastructure, automotive, industrial, and medical electronics markets,” Tan said.

“IMI has been able to deliver on its long-term strategies and will continue to do so. We are a growth company playing in an industry that drives the global economy. The market for electronics is still underserved, and we have positioned ourselves in the right market segments,” he added.

IMI closed last year with $117.6 million in cash after a follow-on offering that raised $36 million and the sale of its Singapore property for $17.2 million.

- Interaksyon