PIE eyes four big projects

Group managing director Alvin Mui told StarBiz that the projects were to manufacture electronic systems for a wide range of industrial, energy, and telecom products.
“These are for our European and US customers. We expect to conclude the deals in the third quarter of 2017, while the contribution will materialise in 2018,” he said.
The telecommunications, security and industrial sectors should contribute over 40 per cent to the company’s revenue in 2018 compared to less than 30 per cent now, Mui said.
“The telecommunications and security sectors in the US were projected to grow to US$20 billion in 2016 because it covered a broad range of products such as critical telecommunication devices, smart cards and biometrics, as well as mechanical and electro-mechanical locks, and access controls,” he said.
Mui said the company was allocating RM15 million for capital expenditure this year.
“A portion of this budget will be used to expand our operations in Thailand, where the current work is focused on cable assembly.
“We want to expand the operations to include plastic injection moulding and surface mount technology (SMT) activities to produce electronic circuits for printed circuit boards assembly,” he said.
PIE’s computer numerical control (CNC) precision tooling division will start operations in the second quarter of this year in a new RM20-million facility in Seberang Jaya.
“The CNC division supports our plastic injection, metal stamping and electronic assembly operations by providing plastic and metal mould, jig and fixtures fabrication, to broadening our revenue base and more effectively support all existing customers.
“Our outsourcing cost to contractors in and outside the country will also be cut down substantially,” he said.
Mui noted that the company’s performance for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2017 will improve over last year.
“Our existing customers in the sensor, industrial, telecommunication, and medical equipment box-built sectors have ramped up their orders for 2017.
“A new growth area is our touch-screen technology used in large display panels, which is expected to be a significant contributor in 2018,” Mui said.
For the fourth quarter of last year, PIE posted RM23.6 million in after tax profit on the back of a RM193.5-million turnover, compared to RM23.8 million and RM262.3 million achieved respectively in the corresponding period the previous year.
For the whole of financial year 2016, PIE recorded RM36.5m in after-tax profit on the back of a RM579m revenue, compared to RM57.59m and RM662m achieved in 2015.
According to Freedonia, a Cleveland-based market research firm, the US market for security products and systems was expected to be about US$19.9 billion in 2016.
“Rebounds in construction and capital investment spending are expected to be the primary growth drivers. A perceived high risk of crime and technological improvements to security technology will also play a role,” the report said.