Kuala Lumpur, May 11 – Hartalega Holdings Bhd (Hartalega), the world’s largest synthetic glove manufacturer, delivered an excellent performance for its fourth quarter ended 31 March 2017.
The Group registered a profit after tax (PAT) of RM89.4 million, marking a significant hike of 45% compared with RM61.5 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter. Profit before tax (PBT) increased by 67.6% to RM118.5 million from RM70.7 million in the same quarter last year, while revenue grew by 31.6% to RM526.9 million.
For the full financial year ended 31 March 2017, the Group recorded a higher PAT of RM283 million, reflecting 9.97% jump from RM257.4 million in the previous financial year. PBT increased by 10% to RM348.7 million while turnover rose by 21.6% to RM1.8 billion.
The improved performance is due to the Group’s continuous expansion in production capacity coupled with improved operating efficiencies. Increasing demand and sales volume as well as the strengthening of the USD also contributed to the higher revenue.
The Group’s earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter under review was 5.45 sen, while for the 12-month period, EPS was 17.24 sen. Net assets per share was 102.39 sen as at 31 March 2017.
As a result of the Group’s performance, the Board declared a third interim dividend of 2 sen per share for its financial year ended 31 March 2017, as per the entitlement date on 9 June 2017 and payable on 23 June 2017. This brings the total dividend to date to 6 sen per share.
Kuan Mun Leong, Managing Director of Hartalega Holdings said, “Our strategies put in place over the last few years are bearing much fruit. Performance for the fourth quarter accompanied by our full year results demonstrate that we are on the right path to maintain our pole position in the glove manufacturing sector.”
“Driven by our Next Generation Integrated Glove Manufacturing Complex (NGC), with Phase 1 completed we have made significant headway in propelling our productivity and production capacity to the next level while increasing operating efficiencies. This has enabled us to cater to the robust global demand for nitrile gloves.”
“Going forward, demand for our nitrile gloves remains strong. In line with this, we have embarked on Phase 2 of NGC, with 10 out of 12 lines at Plant 3 already operational. The remaining lines at Plant 3 and 4 of Phase 2 are expected to be operational by end- 2017. Having said that, we remain committed to managing our growth in a sustainable manner, consistent with market dynamics.”
“Despite the competitive environment, we are confident that this measured strategy will enable us to forge ahead, in tandem with our continuous efforts to improve efficiencies via cost optimisation, economies of scale and incremental productivity gains to ensure stable margins. Moving forward, we will continue to take the lead by accelerating innovation and setting new standards for the industry via the NGC,” concluded Kuan.