GLOVE manufacturer Riverstone Holdings : AP4 0% on Friday (Nov 3) posted a net profit of RM59.3 million (S$17 million) for the third quarter ended Sep 30, a 6.6 per cent dip from RM63.5 million the corresponding year-ago period.

This translates to earnings per share (EPS) of four sen, lower than an EPS of 4.28 sen in Q3 FY2022.

Revenue for the quarter fell 17.5 per cent year on year, to RM222.8 million from RM270 million.

The group attributed its flat quarter-on-quarter revenue to new clients for its customised healthcare gloves negating the impact of slow consumer electronics demand.

In its bourse filing, Riverstone declared an interim dividend of five sen per share for Q3, bringing its year-to-date interim dividends to 10 sen per share.

For the nine months ended Sep 30, its net profit was RM152.9 million, down 43.9 per cent from RM272.4 million year on year.

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Revenue for the three quarters slid 33.1 per cent to RM685 million from RM1 billion.

The group noted that raw material costs trended downwards for the period under review. However, the oversupply of gloves continues to be a “major problem”.

“Coupled with price competition, currency fluctuations, volatile raw material prices and increase in production costs, the group encounters challenge in growing the business,” said the company.

However, executive chairman and chief executive Wong Teek Son said the group is “upbeat about FY2024 with the expected recovery of cleanroom gloves driven by an improved consumer electronics sector”.

Shares of mainboard-listed Riverstone closed up 3.51 per cent or S$0.02 at S$0.59 on Friday, before the announcement.