by M. JAY SHEILA

EP Manufacturing Bhd (EPMB) surged 16 sen or 21.5% to 90.5 sen, with 29.2 million shares exchanging hands, making it one of the top gainers in the first half of today’s Bursa Malaysia trading.

The automotive parts manufacturer counter, which closed at 74.5 sen yesterday, hit a 52-week low of 39.5 sen on May 29, and has been slowly surging till date.

In an exchange filing on May 30, EP Manufacturing posted a net profit of RM3.55 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 (1Q23) compared to a net profit of RM386,000 in the same period last year. Earnings per share also saw a significant increase from 0.20 sen to 1.69 sen.

It attributed the higher quarterly revenue, which rose by 55.1% to RM152.12 million, mainly due to increase in vehicle sales due to the continued fulfilment of the substantial orders received by car makers prior to the expiry of the sales tax exemption which ended on March 31.

EP Manufacturing, founded and based in Shah Alam, is principally involved in the manufacture of automotive parts and components with a portfolio of products including automotive modular assemblies, automotive suspension parts, chassis parts, body parts, cross member and engine parts.

Its largest shareholders are Mutual Concept Sdn Bhd with a 9.69% stake, HKFAEx Group Ltd  (6.61%) and Everegion Sdn Bhd (4.65%). It has a market capitalisation of RM198.3 million.