Top Glove Bhd : First-Quarter Net Profit Soared on Rising Glove Demand

   Ben Otto 
 

Top Glove Corp. Bhd.'s first-quarter net profit rose by about 20 times, as demand for protective wear continued amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The glove maker said Wednesday that net profit for the September-November period surged to 2.38 billion ringgit ($584.4 million) from MYR111.4 million a year ago.

Revenue jumped to MYR4.76 billion from MYR1.21 billion on strong demand from both developed and emerging markets, Top Glove said.

The company said it expects glove demand to rise 25% in 2021 and 15% a year post-pandemic owing to rising awareness of hygiene. Before the pandemic, glove demand was rising at about 10% a year, it said.

Top Glove shares have nearly quintupled in 2020 amid global demand for its medical gloves and other protective wear. The company has earmarked MYR10 billion for investment over the next five years to increase production capacity by an additional 100 billion gloves.

Write to Ben Otto at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-09-20 0130ET