KUALA LUMPUR: Hartalega Holdings Bhd's net profit plunged 74.1 per cent to RM259.06 million in the third quarter (Q3) ended December 31, 2021, from RM1 billion recorded in the same quarter in the same quarter last year.
In a statement today, the latex gloves manufacturer said the decline in net profit for the quarter was mainly due to lower average selling price (ASP) and reduced sales volume.
Revenue in the same quarter was halved to RM1 billion from RM2.13 billion while earnings per share (EPS) was 7.58 sen for Q3 and 100.43 sen for the nine months.
Net assets per share were RM1.70 as of December 31, 2021.
Chief executive officer Kuan Mun Leong said ASP has continued to decline from its peak in the first half of the financial year, arising from lower sales demand and increased supply from major and new glove manufacturers.
In addition, buyers have also continued to adjust inventories due to the lower selling price.
Furthermore, he said with the recent gazettement of the one-off Prosperity Tax, this is expected to have a material impact on earnings in the final quarter of the company's current financial year.
Kuan said despite this current environment, Hartalega continues to focus on its strategic long-term expansion plans to cater for the structural organic step-up in global demand for gloves, as glove usage is set to see an uptick in emerging markets on the back of growing hygiene awareness.
"With this in view and conscious of market supply and demand dynamics, we continue to expand our capacity driven by our Next Generation Integrated Glove Manufacturing Complex (NGC).
"As we continue to progress in our strategic expansion plans, we are confident that long-term prospects remain bright for the company," he said.
For the nine months, Hartalega's net profit surged to RM3.43 billion from RM1.77 billion, while revenue grew 57.4 per cent to RM6.92 billion from RM4.39 billion.
In line with the company's commitment to enhancing shareholder value, the board declared a second interim dividend of 14.8 sen per share single tier for its financial year ending March 31, 2022.
Hartalega will pay the dividend on March 9, 2022.