KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 12): Hartalega Holdings Bhd (KL:HARTA) saw higher earnings in its second quarterly financial review as better average selling prices (ASPs) more than offset pricier raw material costs.

For the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2026 (2QFY2027), Hartalega’s net profit jumped by nearly 80% to RM32.8 million compared to RM18.3 million in the previous corresponding quarter. 

Earnings per share were 0.96 sen versus 0.54 sen. It did not declare any dividend for the quarter.

Quarterly revenue rose to RM644.74 million from RM539.66 million, according to a bourse filing on Thursday.

The glove maker said the pricing had partly offset higher raw material costs linked to the geopolitical conflict in West Asia. Though nitrile prices rose year-on-year, Hartalega said these costs were not fully passed on to customers.

Hartalega attributed its improved performance year-on-year to pricing discipline and cost optimisation measures, including tighter cost control and better production efficiency.

For the six-month period (1HFY2027), net profit more than tripled to RM102.83 million from RM30.91 million, while revenue climbed to RM1.25 billion.

This was due to US dollar-denominated ASPs, partly offset by a stronger ringgit, which reduced the ringgit value of sales, and marginally lower volume.

Hartalega said it remains positive on the long-term outlook for the glove industry, citing demand above pre-pandemic levels and customer inventories that have largely normalised.

It added that higher US tariffs on China-origin gloves improve the competitiveness of Malaysian producers, and that its US customer relationships and Malaysian production base position it to capture additional volume there. It also noted that global capacity exceeds demand, which limits pricing power, and that redirected China-origin supply is intensifying competition outside the US. 

In the near term, Hartalega said profitability will depend on the spread between ASPs and input costs.

It added that renewed escalation in the Middle East could raise raw material, energy and freight costs, and that it will adjust selling prices where appropriate while weighing competitive conditions.

“Recent industry ASP adjustments reflect manufacturers’ efforts to mitigate these cost pressures. The group will continue to implement timely selling-price adjustments where appropriate to recover higher input costs, while balancing prevailing competitive conditions and customer demand,” said the company in the filing.

On operations, Hartalega said Plant 9 is fully operational and that headcount per million pieces at its NGC 1.5 facility fell 27.3% in FY2026.

By the end of the second quarter, five production lines at Plant 3 had been recommissioned using Plant 9's technologies and practices. Recommissioning of Plant 3 will continue, followed by Plant 4, with capital expenditure focused on upgrading and automating production lines, including selected artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled applications.

No dividend was declared for the second quarter under review.

Shares of Hartalega paused by one sen or 0.85% higher to RM1.19 on Thursday's intraday break. At its last price, the group had a market value of RM4.08 billion.