HARTALEGA PROFIT EASES TO RM103.87M
Nitrile glove maker cites lower average selling price, rising operating costs
HARTALEGA Holdings Bhd’s net profit eased 13.6 per cent to RM103.87 million in the second quarter ended Sept 30 from RM120.22 million a year ago.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the nitrile glove manufacturer said this was mainly due to lower average selling price and rise in packaging and natural gas costs.
Revenue eased 0.7 per cent to RM709.42 million from RM714.24 million previously.
For the six-month period, Hartalega’s net profit fell 19.2 per cent to RM197.93 million from RM245.09 million while revenue slumped five per cent to RM1.35 billion from RM1.42 billion previously.
Meanwhile, Hartalega said it would continue with its Next Generation Integrated Glove Manufacturing Complex (NGC)’s capacity expansion plans, in line with rise in demand for rubber gloves globally.
It said Plant 5 of its NGC facility was fully commissioned during the quarter while the first line of Plant 6 was expected to begin operations in the first quarter of next year, with an annual installed capacity of 4.7 billion pieces.
Hartalega said Plant 7, which had commenced construction, would cater to small orders focusing on specialty products.
It would have an annual installed capacity of 3.4 billion pieces.
“With the progressive commissioning of Plant 6 and 7, Hartalega’s annual installed capacity is expected to increase from the current 36.6 billion pieces to 44.7 billion by financial year 2022.
“But while market demand has picked up in second half, business environment continues to remain challenging due to rising operating costs. In line with this, Hartalega will continue to embark on cost optimisation to mitigate potential margin pressure.”
Hartalega will also intensify investment into Industry 4.0 technologies to develop automation solutions, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence solutions to reduce dependency on manual labour and enhance operation effectiveness.