KUALA LUMPUR, 18th MAY 2017 – ECS ICT Berhad (ECS, 佳杰科技; Bloomberg: ECS MK; Reuters: ECSI.KL) (“ECS” or the “Group”), Malaysia’s leading Information & Communications Technology (“ICT”) distributor, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended 31 March 2017 (“Q1FY17”), posting a 5.8% increase in revenue of RM460.1 million, as compared to RM434.7 million recorded in the preceding year’s corresponding quarter (“Q1FY16”), mainly due to sales contribution from the Group’s ICT Distribution segment. Meanwhile, the Group’s Profit Before Tax (“PBT”) registered a 6.2% decrease at RM6.6 million for Q1FY17 as compared to RM7.0 million posted for Q1FY16. This decline in PBT is primarily due to lower gross profit (“GP”) margin from its ICT Distribution segment.

ECS’ ICT distribution segment recorded total sales of RM377.3 million for Q1FY17, an increase of 11.6%, as compared to RM338.0 million in Q1FY16, attributed by higher sales of notebooks and smartphones. The Group’s Enterprise Systems segment and ICT Services segment, however, registered reduced revenue at RM74.7 million and RM8.1 million respectively for the quarter under review as compared to RM88.0 million and RM8.7 million recorded correspondingly in Q1FY16. The 15.2% decline in revenue for the Enterprise Systems segment in Q1FY17 is resulted from lower sales of servers, networking equipment and software.

Chief Executive Officer of ECS, Mr. Soong Jan Hsung expressed, “The market sentiment for both consumer and commercial sectors were cautious for the first quarter of the financial year following the slowdown last year. Nevertheless, we have managed to deliver a growth in revenue.”

Mr. Soong added, “Looking ahead, we expect 2017 to be another challenging year as both consumer and commercial sectors remain rather cautious with its ICT spending. While sales for PCs and notebooks have increased, sales for mobility products have been flat due to a significant decline in demand for tablets. Yet, the growth of smartphones, particularly with the addition of new brands like Alcatel and Moto by Lenovo, will continue among consumers. In view of several recent reports by economists and research houses that forecasted better GDP growth rate for 2017, we expect consumer spending and ICT expenditure on Enterprise Systems to recover and consequently, improve our performance for the remainder of FY17.”