{"slug": "chip-stocks-ums-pares-morning-gains-despite-q2-profit-surge-aem-reverses-into", "title": "Chip stocks: UMS pares morning gains despite Q2 profit surge, AEM reverses into drop", "summary": "UMS Integration shares pared an 8.2% gain to flat at S$2.70 by midday on Friday (Aug 14), despite reporting an 89% surge in Q2 net profit to S$19.4 million, which CEO Andy Luong attributed to the \"strong artificial intelligence 'super-cycle' and sustained aviation boom worldwide.\" AEM Holdings reversed into a 4.4% drop to S$10.50 after rising 14% the previous day on a 10-fold jump in H1 net profit to S$31 million, while Frencken fell 7.2% to S$2.59 after reporting a 3.4% decline in H1 net profit to S$19.3 million. The moves come as Singapore upgraded its 2026 economic growth forecast to 4.5-5.5% on an AI investment boom.", "body_md": "# Chip stocks: UMS pares morning gains despite Q2 profit surge, AEM reverses into drop\n\nUMS shares pare an 8.2% gain to be flat at midday while AEM is down 4.4%\n\n[SINGAPORE] Shares of UMS Integration on Friday (Aug 14) pared the morning’s 8.2 per cent gains to be flat at midday after it reported an 89 per cent surge in second-quarter net profit.\n\nOn Thursday, [UMS posted a S$19.4 million net profit for the period](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ums-integration-q2-profit-89-buoyed-ai-super-cycle-aviation-boom), up from about S$10.3 million in the year-ago period. This came as revenue for the three months ended June rose 29 per cent to S$87.1 million.\n\nUMS CEO Andy Luong cited the “strong artificial intelligence ‘super-cycle’ and sustained aviation boom worldwide” for the much-improved numbers.\n\nThe counter on Friday rose to as high as S$2.92 within four minutes of market open, but pared all of its gains by noon to be flat at S$2.70.\n\n## AEM, Frencken decline\n\nBellwether chip stock AEM meanwhile fell on Friday, after having risen [14 per cent the day before](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/aem-shares-end-14-higher-after-h1-profit-rises-10-times) on a 10-times higher [net profit of S$31 million](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/aems-h1-net-profit-rises-10-times-s30-8-million-stronger-ai-chip-demand) for the half year ended Jun 30. The counter initially rose as much as 5.1 per cent on Friday, but was down 4.4 per cent at S$10.50 by noon.\n\nFortunes were also not rosy for Frencken , which manufactures high-precision components, modules and complete sub-systems for multinational companies.\n\nIts shares fell as much as 7.2 per cent, or S$0.20, to S$2.59 in the first minute of trading, after it reported [a 3.4 per cent drop in first-half net profit](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frencken-h1-net-profit-falls-3-4-s19-3-million) on Thursday.\n\nAmong its customers are health technology company Philips and chipmaking equipment maker ASML.\n\nFrencken’s administrative and general expenses widened 9.9 per cent year on year to S$32.6 million, while revenue dropped 0.8 per cent to S$427.8 million.\n\n## AI-driven macroeconomic upgrade\n\nThe chip stocks’ Q2 earnings come amid a positive macroeconomic backdrop in Singapore.\n\nThe government on Tuesday upgraded its 2026 economic growth forecast for Singapore to a range of [4.5 to 5.5 per cent](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/singapore/singapore-raises-2026-growth-forecast-4-5-5-5-q2-growth-revised-5-9). This was up from the previous forecast of 2 to 4 per cent as an accelerating global boom in AI investment lifted the Republic’s prospects for the rest of the year.\n\nOn a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the economy grew 1.4 per cent in Q2, underpinned by the manufacturing, wholesale trade, and finance and insurance sectors.\n\nThe government added that manufacturing output surged 12.5 per cent year on year, thanks to the electronics and precision engineering clusters, as global demand for AI-related semiconductors, including networking and memory chips, boosted production lines in Singapore.\n\nDecoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.\n\nCopyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.\n\n[TRENDING NOW](/pulse?ref=trending-now)\n\nHow BYD disrupted Singapore’s car market – and why the strategy is turning on itself\n\nToo little, too late? Manila’s billion-dollar bid to ignite its sputtering EV industry\n\nStocks to watch: ThaiBev, Genting Singapore, First Resources, Olam Group, UMS Integration, Frencken, SBS Transit and more\n\nOlam H1 profit up six times to S$1.9 billion on Olam Agri spin-off; declares dividend of S$0.07 a share", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chip-stocks-ums-pares-morning-gains-despite-q2-profit-surge-aem-reverses-into", "canonical_source": "https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/chip-stocks-ums-pares-morning-gains-despite-q2-profit-surge-aem-reverses-drop", "published_at": "2026-08-14 01:37:33+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-14 04:36:57.514883+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["UMS Integration", "Andy Luong", "AEM Holdings", "Frencken", "Philips", "ASML", "Singapore"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chip-stocks-ums-pares-morning-gains-despite-q2-profit-surge-aem-reverses-into", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chip-stocks-ums-pares-morning-gains-despite-q2-profit-surge-aem-reverses-into.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chip-stocks-ums-pares-morning-gains-despite-q2-profit-surge-aem-reverses-into.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chip-stocks-ums-pares-morning-gains-despite-q2-profit-surge-aem-reverses-into.jsonld"}}