LOSSES of Ayala-led Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. (IMI) ballooned to $4.62 million in the first quarter due to the global impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
The global electronics manufacturing firm reported yesterday the exponential growth of its attributable net loss to close to $5 million from $335,000 last year. Its revenues contracted 21% to $255.82 million, and gross profit slumped 33% to $19.47 million. Revenues from wholly-owned businesses fell 19% to $209 million.
IMI’s operating units in Asia posted a revenue decline of 20% to $105 million, reflecting the effect of closing facilities in China in February and in Luzon, Philippines in mid-March.
While plants in Europe and North America remained fully operational during the three-month period, revenues still dropped 15% due to market disruptions in the global chain.
The combined revenues of Via Optronics and STI Enterprises, Ltd. also went down 27% to $47 million.
Despite the sour turnout in the first quarter, IMI Chief Executive Officer Arthur R. Tan said the company is hopeful that its geographic diversity will help lift its performance in the coming months.
“The company’s wide geographical footprint gives us the flexibility to shift and address demands across all our regions as the pandemic situation continues to affect global markets,” Mr. Tan was quoted in a statement as saying.
IMI has 21 manufacturing plants across 10 different countries, namely the Philippines, China, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Serbia, United Kingdom and the United States.
The company also said it is adapting to the challenges by “controlling overhead costs, reducing raw material expenses, and securing ongoing support from various governments including Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Serbia and Singapore.”
“Despite these turbulent times, we firmly believe that the strategies we set forth in building towards a sustainable, interconnected future continue to be very relevant,” Mr. Tan said.
Shares in IMI at the stock exchange in up six centavos or 1.03% to P5.91 each on Thursday. — Denise A. Valdez
