Top Glove Expects To Return To Black In FY2025 - MD

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 (Bernama) -- Glove manufacturer, Top Glove Corporation Bhd expects to return to the black in financial year 2025 (FY2025), driven by the increase in sales volume and improved utilisation rates.

Although the group did not manage to achieve profitability in FY2024, managing director Lim Cheong Guan said the group is now on the final leg of its recovery journey.

“We are positive about our outlook. The stage is set for an inevitable return to the black in FY2025, with the continuous increase in sales volume and improvement in utilisation rates.

“The group’s ongoing quality and efficiency improvement and sustainability initiative would position us for an enduring success,” he said during the group’s virtual briefing on its FY2024 results today. 

Elaborating further, Lim said the group expects the strong demand for gloves to continue, premised on the replenishment of inventories across all regions, coupled with the United States’ (US) move to implement a new tariff on glove imports from China.

“US customers would begin outsourcing to Malaysia manufacturers as the new 50 per cent tariff on glove imports from China comes into effect on Jan 1, 2025. 

“Considering the shipment and port clearance allowance of around 1.5 months for the exports from China, there should not be any medical gloves being exported by the US from China from the middle of November onwards,” he said.

On average selling prices (ASPs), Lim foresees the prices will be in a better position to command higher pricing as ASPs have been adjusted to reflect the higher raw material cost. 

He added that in view of the stronger demand, Top Glove has resumed the operations of its factories which had been temporarily shut down and established new ones, thus increasing its production capacity by an additional four billion pieces, bringing it to a total of 64 billion pieces by December 2024. 

In FY2024, Top Glove reduced its net loss to RM61.81 million from RM925.22 million in FY2023.

Revenue also rose 11 per cent to RM2.52 billion from RM2.26 billion previously, mainly due to a rise in sales volume as customers continued to replenish glove inventories, leading to higher utilisation rates and enhanced cost efficiency.

-- BERNAMA