SINGAPORE (Mar 15): Top Glove, the largest manufacturer of gloves globally, announced full-year earnings ended Jan rose 31.2% to RM109 million ($36.6 million) in 2Q18 from RM83.1 million in 2Q17.
This brings 1H18 earnings to RM214.5 million, 37.1% higher than RM156.4 million in 1H17.
Revenue for the quarter came in at RM958.4 million, an increase of 12.6% from RM851.5 million a year ago.
This was lifted by 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.
The increase in revenue came on the back of a 21% y-o-y surge in sales volume.
With operating expenses increasing 10.4% y-o-y to RM839.9 million, while other income halved from the previous year to RM6.57 million, profit from operations for the second quarter ended February came in at RM125.2 million, 20.3% higher than RM104.1 million last year.
Share of results of associates increased significantly to RM2.09 million compared to RM57,000 in the previous year.
As at Feb 28, the group’s cash and cash equivalents stood at RM185.0 million.
Lim Wee Chai, executive chairman of Top Glove, says, “While we have performed well this quarter, we will not be complacent and are preparing ourselves for a challenging second half of the financial year. With this in mind, we will continue to embark on quality improvement and cost-saving projects to ensure we continue to deliver strong results in the quarters ahead.”
As at 3.02pm, shares in Top Glove are trading at $3.25.
