KUALA LUMPUR: Hartalega Holdings Bhd's net profit increased 12.1 per cent to RM3.23 billion during the full financial year ended March 31, 2022 (FY22) from the RM2.89 billion recorded in FY21.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, the glove maker said the higher net profit recorded was mainly driven by higher revenue.
This was partly offset by higher raw material and other operating costs.
Hartalega's revenue jumped 17.7 per cent to RM7.89 billion during the same period from RM6.70 billion, contributed by a higher average selling price (ASP).
Earnings per share (EPS) for the full financial year increased to 94.64 sen, while net assets per share stood at RM1.50 as of March 31.
Hartalega has declared a third interim single-tier dividend of 3.5 sen per share for FY22, payable on June 9.
This will bring total dividends to date for the financial year to 3.5 sen per share.
For the fourth quarter (Q4), Hartalega registered a net loss of RM197.9 million from the net profit of RM1.12 billion recorded in the same quarter a year ago.
In a separate statement, the glove maker said the net loss recorded for the quarter was primarily due to the provision of Prosperity Tax (Cukai Makmur).
Revenue dipped 58 per cent to RM968.69 million from RM2.31 billion, attributed to the normalising ASPs coupled with reduced sales volume and higher operating costs.
Chief executive officer Kuan Mun Leong said that despite the discouraging Q4 result, the company expects prospects to remain in FY23 even as it enters the endemic phase.
He added that the current ASPs for the glove sector seem to have bottomed out, and the opening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions is expected to relieve the current shortage of workers.
He said this would be of benefit to Hartalega.
"We continue to face external pressures, including the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the lockdown in major cities in China resulting from the new wave of Covid-19 cases, which are expected to affect the already strained global supply chain, leading to rising global commodity and raw material prices.
"Additionally, the recent implementation of the new minimum wage policy in Malaysia will likely result in higher operating costs for the manufacturing sector.
"Amidst this challenging backdrop, we are focused on cost optimisation, continuous efficiency improvement, and automation initiatives across our operations to ensure the sustainability and resilience of the group," he said.
Meanwhile, Kuan said Hartalega continues to progress in capacity expansion via the group's Next Generation Integrated Glove Manufacturing Complex (NGC).
"To this end, our NGC 1.5 expansion is on track, and we target to commission the first production line by Q4 of 2022.
"The pace of commissioning for NGC 1.5 will depend on the prevailing market situation moving forward," he said.