Market Recovery, Growing Efficiency and Effective Cost Control to Drive Rebound
Revenue Increased by 22.3% YoY to HK$1,836.2 Million
Net Profit Increased by 15.2 Times to HK$34.2 Million
Financial Highlights
For the six months ended 30 September |
2021/22 HK$ million |
2020/21 HK$ million |
Change |
Revenue |
1,836.2 |
1,501.9 |
+22.3% |
Gross profit |
255.8 |
172.2 |
+48.5% |
Gross profit margin (%) |
11.5% |
13.9% |
+2.4 % pt. |
Profit attributable to owners of the Company |
34.2 |
2.1 |
+1,521.8% |
Basic earnings per ordinary share (HK cent(s)) |
4.06 |
0.25 |
+1,524.0% |
(30 November 2021 – Hong Kong) Computime Group Limited (the “Company” or “Computime”, together with its subsidiaries, collectively the “Group”; stock code: 320.HK), a specialist in design, manufacturing and Internet of Things (“IoT”) solutions in the electronics manufacturing services space, is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2021 (the “Period”).
Results Overview
Despite the significant headwinds from COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions, the Group was able to achieve notable milestones in its operations and financial performance during the Period. Specifically, revenue recorded an increase of 22.3% year-on-year (“YoY”) to approximately HK$1,836.2 million (1H FY20/21: HK$1,501.9 million), driven by the rebound in consumer confidence and orders, as well as growing sales contribution from new customers and strategic business partnerships. Gross profit increased by 48.5% YoY to HK$255.8 million (1H FY20/21: HK$172.2 million), with gross profit margin slightly improved by 2.4 percentage points to 13.9% (1H FY20/21: 11.5%), mainly attributable to better sales mix as well as economies of scale in leveraging factory overhead costs. Together with successfully cost base re-engineering, net profit attributable to owners of the Company amounted to HK$34.2 million, as compared with HK$2.1 million of same period last year, representing a YoY growth of 15.2 times.
Segment Review
The Group remained committed to becoming a premium provider of innovative technology solutions. Its two operating segments, Smart Solutions (“SS”) and Contract Manufacturing Services (“CMS”), continued to leverage Computime’s vast technological know-how to deliver value-added products and services to its international customers.
For the SS segment, segment revenue for the Period is approximately HK$561.0 million (1H FY20/21: HK$483.5 million), representing a YoY increase of approximately 16.0%, mainly due to the recovery in America and Europe after COVID-19 disruption.
For the CMS segment, segment revenue for the Period is approximately HK$1,275.2 million, or an increase of approximately 25.2% YoY (1H FY20/21: HK$1,018.4 million), attributable to stronger demand on home usage of appliances, power tools, fireplace and gardening devices. The improvement from the CMS segment also helped the Group to maintain a steady revenue level during this challenging period.
Operational Highlights
The Group underwent necessary transformation during the Period to tackle market challenges including global raw material shortage, as well as disruption to global logistics and manufacturing operations.
The Group continued its efforts in product and technological research and development (“R&D”), especially in the area of IoT cloud platform and robotic artificial intelligence (“AI”) solutions, and has successfully transformed itself to a total solutions provider covering hardware, software (PaaS) and cloud technologies. The Group also developed respective platforms for its heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (“HVAC”), robotics and AI and machine learning solutions, and tapped into new market segments including smart home, smart building, sustainable green technologies, AI robotic markets, and irrigation and gardening.
On production, Computime has evolved from a China-based manufacturing company, to one with global manufacturing footprint. This includes the progressive ramp up of its production base in Malaysia, coupled with the initial setup in Vietnam and Mexico, in the form of capital investment or virtual manufacturing, as well as the Eastern Europe option under evaluation. The extensive coverage allows the Group to provide flexible, cost-competitive, and agile manufacturing solutions to its customers, helping them to tap into regional markets at a shorter lead time and more competitive prices, without sacrificing product quality.
During the Period, the Group also enjoyed notable success from its business development strategy, as it dedicated more effort on focused industries, and has since recorded a growing number of orders from existing customers while landing new projects from new customers. The Group also successfully transformed the branded business – SALUS, turning its European operation into a fast-growing and profitable business, with a much clearer future direction.
Outlook
Looking ahead, the Group expects the market to be continuously unpredictable and challenging, due to the spread of new COVID-19 variants, shortage of electronic raw materials, and slow recovery of the global economy. Nonetheless, supported by its recovering order book and growing competitiveness, the Group remains cautiously optimistic over its prospect, and will look to further expand its product and manufacturing capability to prepare for the unexpected.
Mr. AUYANG Pak Hong Bernard – Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of Computime Group Limited, said, “We are delighted to see significant improvements in operational and financial performance despite market headwinds. The strong growth has not only demonstrated the resilience of the Group’s business model, but is also proof of success of our proactive initiatives and efficient management. Stepping into the second half and beyond, the Group will continue to expand its R&D capability, introduce new smart elements and products, further diversify its global manufacturing footprint, and actively explore merger and acquisition opportunities to fast-track growth in strategic areas.”
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