IMI Reports 40% Revenue Rise in 2011

Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI), provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and power semiconductor assembly and test services (SATS), recorded US$575.5 million in consolidated sales revenues in 2011, or a 40 percent increase from US$412.3 million in 2010.

The above-industry average revenue growth was due to increased turnkey businesses in China, strong growth in the automotive and industrial segments for the Philippine operations, and additional revenues from PSi Technologies Inc and IMI’s new entities in Europe and Mexico.

Against a backdrop of weak global economic growth, higher material and direct labor costs caused IMI’s margins to decline, resulting in a consolidated net income of US$3.3 million, 31 percent lower than last year.

Arthur Tan, IMI president and chief executive officer, said: "Despite a global economy saddled with Eurozone struggles and US weaknesses, we grew our revenues. IMI remained profitable in spite of a very volatile marketplace."

Tan added that by expanding its global footprint in 2011, IMI has achieved a diversity of marketplaces, serving varied segments of the electronics industry in different parts of the world.

"This lessens the impact of any market downturn on our overall performance," he said. "Further, we have gained a good mix of customers, which means that we are not heavily weighed down by a single customer or market or site."

The company’s operations in China and Singapore posted US$279.7 million in combined revenues in 2011, a 12 percent year-on-year growth due mainly to new turnkey programs for major customers.

The Philippine operations generated US$154.2 million revenues, an 8 percent increase from 2010 due to strong programs in the automotive and industrial sectors. Toward the end of the year, IMI’s assembly operations for the storage device manufacturers also increased, as hard disk drive manufacturers in flood-plagued Thailand transferred production to the Philippines.

PSi Technologies contributed US$74.0 million revenues for the whole year. Sales posted by the entities in Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, and Mexico totaled US$66.2 million from August to December of 2011.

IMI’s fourth quarter 2011 revenues of US$155.4 million decreased by 1 percent from US$157.6 million of the previous quarter. The resulting net income of US$2.8 million is higher than the third quarter’s income of US$0.5 million arising mainly from income related to acquisition of EPIQ subsidiaries and mark-to-market gains on derivatives.

"We continued to maintain financial stability, ending the year with a positive cash balance of US$54.1 million," said Tan.

IMI’s current ratio and debt-to-equity ratio are 1.5:1 and 0.42:1, respectively.

"We are cautiously optimistic for 2012 in the face of market uncertainty. We bank on our expanded reach and capability, and our growing presence in high-margin and less volatile markets such as the automotive and industrial sectors," said Tan.

Tan also mentioned that one of IMI’s focus industries for 2012 is the promising photovoltaics (PV) or solar energy industry. IMI will be manufacturing for a North American PV company at least 35 megawatts of solar panels for the next three years to serve PV markets in China, India, and Australia. This manufacturing program commenced February this year in plant in Jiaxing, China.