KUALA LUMPUR (March 16): Top Glove Corp Bhd said the industry’s average selling price (ASP) is returning to the pre-pandemic level, following the upward revision of selling prices of gloves.
According to Top Glove chairman and founder Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai, Malaysian glove manufacturers have increased the glove ASP to US$21 (RM94.58) per 1,000 pieces from US$17. In comparison, Chinese glove players also revised their ASP to US$17, from US$14 previously.
“Now we can see the [glove ASP] bottomed up. Before [the Covid-19] pandemic, nitrile glove prices averaged about US$20 to US$22 [per 1,000 pieces]. The selling price is almost back to the pre-pandemic [level]. This is very good news,” Lim told a virtual press briefing in conjunction with the release of the company’s quarterly earnings.
For Top Glove, Lim indicated that the group’s glove ASP had increased between 10% and 20%, following the upward price revision starting from early February. He anticipates that the price hike will continue for March to May delivery, with a monthly price increment of 5% to 10%.
“However, our costs have increased a lot, easily 20%. We have to take care of the costs, so that the price will continue to increase, we hope. We hope the [selling] price can be increased by another 10% to 20% to cover our increased costs, especially labour, gas, electricity, water, and other costs,” he added.
Shares in Top Glove were actively traded on Thursday (March 16), after the glove maker posted another loss-making quarter in the second quarter ended Feb 28, 2023 (2QFY2023).
Top Glove topped the actively traded list on Thursday, with 184.96 million shares exchanging hands. The stock rallied 19.29% or 13.5 sen to settle at 83.5 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM6.85 billion.
Net loss stood at RM164.67 million or 2.06 sen per share for 2QFY2023, compared to a net profit of RM87.55 million or 1.09 sen a year earlier. Revenue more than halved to RM618 million from RM1.48 billion, the world's largest glove maker showed in a bourse filing with Bursa Malaysia.
Nonetheless, quarter-on-quarter, losses narrowed slightly for the quarter under review, versus RM168.24 million for 1QFY2023.