KUCHING: PMB Technology Bhd, which is pessimistic about the prospects of metal silicon market going forward, has undertaken a temporary production curtailment at its manufacturing plant in Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu.
The move is to facilitate planned maintenance works for the plant, strengthen operational reliability, optimise resource utilisation and preserve cash flow, the company said when releasing its first quarter to March 31, 2026 (1Q2026) financial results recently.
In the current quarter under review, PMB Technology group reported net loss of RM26.64 million reversal from net profit of RM2.63 million in 1Q2025 despite a sharp increase in revenue to RM213.3 million from RM156.5 million.
The group’s pre-tax loss widened by RM9.2 million to RM24.4 million primarily due to lower sales volume of metallic silicon coupled with the weaker US dollar exchange rate.
The company’s recorded losses per share of 1.32sen from earnings per share of 0.14sen. PMB Technology, which is an associate of Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, said the outlook for the silicon metal industry in 2026 remains “extremely challenging”.
“The market entered the year on a softer footing, with silicon metal prices declining across key regions amid elevated inventory levels, persistent oversupply and subdued downstream demand, which continued to weigh on market pricing and industry margins.
“In addition, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz since late February 2026 had led to higher freight costs and extended delivery lead time, further increasing operational cost pressures faced by the group.
“The strengthening of the Malaysian ringgit against the US dollar over the past 12 months has also resulted in an unfavourable impact on the group’s export revenue translation.
“Against this backdrop, the group’s performance for the current quarter was affected by the challenging operating environment described above, coupled with management’s strategic decision to accelerate inventory destocking efforts amid declining market prices.
While this has impacted sales volume and margins in the short term, the group believes such measures are necessary to enhance operational flexibility and improve inventory efficiency under prevailing market conditions,” added the company in explanatory notes to its financial results.
Due to prevailing geopolitical conditions and the challenging operating environment in the current period, the group expects demand for the remaining period of the current financial year to be adversely affected.
PMB Technology said its management will continue to focus on operational efficiency, stringent cost control and prudent capital management to mitigate external pressures.
At the same time, the group remains committed to advancing its diversification initiatives, leveraging its secured power resources to pursue opportunities in complementary and higher valueadded products.
These initiatives, according to the company, are expected to strengthen the group’s resilience, diversify its earnings base and support sustainable long-term growth.
