Top Glove’s Q2 profit up 31% on record sales volume growth

PETALING JAYA: Top Glove Corp Bhd reported a 31.3% growth in net profit to RM109.01 million for the second quarter (Q2) ended Feb 28, 2017 versus RM83.05 million in the previous corresponding period, as sales volume surged by an all-time high of 21%.

Revenue was up 12.6% from RM851.54 million to RM958.44 million.

The group said in a statement the significant growth in sales volume was mainly attributed to an increase in demand for natural rubber gloves, underscoring the importance of having a balanced product mix, comprising both natural rubber and nitrile gloves, which is aligned with market demand.

It also noted that raw material prices were lower compared with Q2 FY17, with average natural rubber latex and nitrile latex prices decreasing 26.1% to RM4.40/kg and 1.9% to US$1.06 respectively.

Top Glove’s first-half net profit soared 37.1% from RM156.37 million to RM214.46 million on the back of a 15.8% rise in revenue from RM1.64 billion to RM1.9 billion.

The group said it will continue to pursue strategic expansion via the organic and nonorganic routes.

Top Glove is in the process of building two new manufacturing facilities namely, Factory 31 (operational by June this year) and Factory 32 (operational by early 2019). Upon completion, they will boost the group’s total number of production lines by 78 lines and production capacity by 7.8 billion gloves a year.

The group expects glove demand to continue growing steadily on the back of increasing healthcare standards and awareness globally.

Meanwhile, Top Glove said preparations for its condom manufacturing facility have commenced and it is expected to be operational by June 2018.

On Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Top Glove gained 3 sen or 0.3% to RM9.85 on 3.08 million shares traded.