Getting a better grip on Top Glove’s changing fortunes

TOP Glove, the world’s largest maker of rubber gloves, announced last week that it had suffered deep losses for the three months ended November. Its latest report card underscores the shifting fortunes of the Malaysia and Singapore-listed company in a sector previously deemed resilient.

The business of manufacturing gloves, an essential healthcare item, has been through some “peaks and valleys”, in the company’s own words. But the cost of doing business has been weighed down lately by a hangover from the pandemic sales rush, rosy margins and bloated inventories.

Top Glove, which has manufacturing operations in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and China, said it made a net loss of RM168 million (S$51.4 million) in the first quarter of FY2023, reversing from a profit of RM186 million in the corresponding period a year ago. Revenue fell 61 per cent to RM633 million over the period.