IMI Recorded Lower Loss Of $6.8-M

Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI), the Ayala Group’s technology and electronics manufacturing solutions arm, reported a lower net loss of $6.8 million last year from $19.7 million in 2021.

Photo Insert: Despite the ongoing component shortage and supply chain challenges in 2022, IMI’s wholly-owned subsidiaries continued to perform, achieving their fourth straight quarter of positive net income with $4.1 million in the fourth quarter.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm announced $1.41 billion of revenues for 2022, an eight percent improvement compared to the previous year. Revenues for the fourth quarter were at $367 million, a 4.5 percent quarter-on-quarter improvement, and 12 percent better than the same period last year.

Despite the ongoing component shortage and supply chain challenges in 2022, IMI’s wholly-owned subsidiaries continued to perform, achieving their fourth straight quarter of positive net income with $4.1 million in the fourth quarter.

Through proactive steps taken to streamline the supply chain, rationalize global headcount, and restructure product pricing, these core businesses ended the year with $11.5 million of net income.

A net of $2.2 million in one-off gains were booked in the quarter to align the company’s accounting for the estimated useful life of manufacturing equipment with the rest of the industry from an average of seven to 10 years, which is partially offset by some financial provisions.

Via Optronics and STI, Ltd. however continued to face stiffer headwinds in their operating environments. Recovery of the supply shortages, particularly for aerospace and defense, continues to be slower compared to other markets.

Both subsidiaries are still in discussions with their customers to realign pricing to consider the elevated costs of raw materials, freight, and utilities.

The situation was further complicated by the recovery of the Euro and the British Pound against the Dollar in the fourth quarter of the year which resulted in foreign exchange loss impact of $5.9 million on their Dollar assets.

Non-wholly-owned subsidiaries incurred a $6.1 million loss in the fourth quarter, bringing the total to a net loss of $18.2 million for the year. As a result, the Group reported a fourth quarter net loss of $2 million and total net loss for the year of $6.8 million

“As the world moves to normalization after the pandemic, several macro-economic challenges still lingered that significantly affected the financial performance of IMI,” said IMI president Jerome Tan.

Electronic component supply levels struggled to cope with the surge in demand of the automotive market partly driven by the increase in electric vehicles (EVs), leading to high raw material prices and inefficient utilization of facilities.

The Russia-Ukraine war led to elevated energy prices and further constrained the competitive labor market in Europe. China’s firm stance on its zero-covid policy in 2022 hampered operations in the region while global freight costs have also remained elevated, especially in the first half of the year.

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