KUALA LUMPUR: UMediC Group Bhd's (UMC) net profit for the fourth quarter ended July 31, 2023 (4Q23) leapt to RM3.37 million compared with just RM568,000 a year ago.
The 491.4 per cent increase was mainly due to a higher demand for medical devices and consumables from both public and private hospitals as well as healthcare service providers.
Group revenue for the quarter jumped to RM12.02 million from RM7.41 million a year ago.
This was underpinned by the increase in the sale of its manufactured medical consumables, namely HydroX series prefilled humidifiers and AirdroX series inhaler spacers, with a better foreign exchange rate for overseas revenue.
Its earnings per share stood at 0.90 sen against 0.15 sen previously.
UMediC did not declare any dividend for the current quarter.
For the full year, the company's net profit rose to RM10.32 million from RM6.43 million previously, while revenue declined to RM45.43 million from RM50.74 million.
UMediC executive director and chief executive officer Lim Taw Seong said its solid set of results is mainly due to the strong performance of its manufacturing division.
"Moving forward, we foresee a continuous growth in our business.
"This is mainly due to the promising growth of the global medical devices market as it is projected to reach US$799.7 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 5.9 per cent between the year 2023 to 2030," he said in a separate statement.
Lim added that as global awareness on health increases, the number of patients undergoing early diagnostic and surgical procedures will increase.
As a result, it fuels the global demand for medical devices and medical consumables.
Locally, the Ministry of Health has allocated RM36.3 billion under 2023 Budget,12 per cent or RM3.9 billion higher than the previous year's allocation of RM32.4 billion.
"This is the second highest budget allocation which attests to the government's continued emphasis on the healthcare sector," he noted.
UMediC is currently in its next expansion phase following the anticipated expansion of manufacturing facilities for its HydroX series prefilled humidifiers and the recent introduction of its AirdroX series inhaler spacers.
The HydroX series prefilled humidifiers hold Halal certification and Conformité Européenne certification.
UMediC is involved in the marketing and distribution of various branded medical devices and consumables as well as the provision of after-sales services for all its products.