Key Asic targets 2015 turnaround

KUALA LUMPUR: Fabless chip design company, Key Asic Bhd, which has been making losses in the last three financial years, aims to return to the black for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2015, said its chairman Kay-Yee Eg.
However, he said, the company will continue to incur losses for the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2014.
"We expect to narrow the losses. We have been posting losses in the last three financial years," Eg told reporters after the company's EGM here yesterday.
"The chip design business takes about three years to build its products. We spent between US$20 million and US$30 million (RM66.8 million and RM100 million) to build a chip.
"It is very common in the chip design business to spend between US$20 million and US$30 million," Eg added.
For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2013, Key Asic posted a net loss of RM7.189 million compared with a net loss of RM19.073 million in the year before.
Eg said the chips produced by the company are used mainly in medical devices, consumer goods and IT-related products.
He said the company plans to focus on healthcare, consumer goods and IT-related products over the next five to 10 years as it sees potential in these sectors.
"Chips produced by us are used in these sectors. For example, in the healthcare sector, our chips are used in medical devices to transfer data," he added.
Eg said shareholders gave the green light for three corporate exercises – proposed par value reduction, proposed share premium reduction and proposed amendment to the memorandum of association of the company, which will be completed by the end of December 2014.
He added that the company has proposed to reduce the unaudited accumulated losses of RM75.69 million as at June 30, 2014 through the implementation of the proposed share premium reduction and proposed par value reduction.