Riverstone Q1 profit up 69% on stronger demand for gloves

RIVERSTONE Holdings posted a 68.6 per cent increase in net profit in the first quarter of the year as demand rose for its rubber gloves.

Net profit was RM27 million (S$10 million), or 7.28 sen per share, for the three months ended March 31, 2015. Riverstone shares closed at S$1.205 on Monday, up by 3.9 per cent or 4.5 Singapore cents, before the announcement.

Revenue increased by 44.8 per cent to RM127.2 million due to higher demand for gloves. It helped that the company expanded its annual production capacity by one billion gloves to 4.2 billion gloves as at end-2014.

"Our second phase of expansion is currently underway and on track for completion by the end of 2015 ... We acknowledge the increasingly competitive landscape for the glove manufacturing sector and continue to remain cautious about fluctuations in commodity prices and US currency. We are however optimistic about our growth prospects," chief executive Wong Teek Son said in a statement.