KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — Top Glove Corporation Bhd’s net profit jumped 349 per cent to RM7.87 billion in the financial year ended Aug 31, 2021 (FY21) from RM1.75 billion in the same period a year earlier. 

Revenue for the year also surged by 127 per cent to RM16.4 billion from RM7.24 billion in FY20.

The glove producer told the stock exchange that the commendable performance was due to strong glove demand, coupled with elevated average selling prices (ASPs), driven by the ongoing pandemic.

The group’s net cash position remained healthy at RM2.05 billion as of Aug 31, 2021.

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In the fourth quarter (Q4FY21), Top Glove’s net profit declined to RM607.95 million against RM1.18 billion year-on-year, while revenue eased to RM2.12 billion from RM3.11 billion. 

The glove maker said its fourth quarter performance was softer on the back of normalising demand, following mass vaccine rollouts on a global scale, leading to lower sales volume and ASPs, which were not matched by a corresponding reduction in raw material prices.

This was further affected by the punitive actions by US Customs and Border Protection (US CBP), impacting sales volume and profit, said Top Glove. 

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Notwithstanding the accelerating vaccination rate, which has sped up the moderating glove demand and tapering of ASPs, Top Glove has remained upbeat about industry prospects.

“We are confident that demand for gloves as an essential item in the healthcare sector will continue its upward trend, all the more with the emergence of new virus strains,” managing director Datuk Lee Kim Meow said in a separate statement. 

Top Glove expects its Malaysian operations’ sales to boost by 15 per cent of total sales following the “modification of the finding” by US CBP. 

Top Glove’s Malaysian operations have been allowed to resume exporting and selling gloves to the US effective Sept 10, 2021, indicating the group has addressed all indicators of forced labour identified at its Malaysian facilities.

In line with Top Glove’s commitment to reward its approximately 136,000 public shareholders, the total dividend payout for Q4 was 71 per cent, comprising a special dividend payout of 21 per cent plus 50 per cent, in line with its dividend policy.

The glove producer declared a total dividend of 5.4 sen per share, comprising a final dividend of 3.8 sen per share and a special dividend of 1.6 sen per share, with the ex-date for the dividend on Oct 1, while the payment date is Oct 15, 2021.

The total dividend declared for FY2021 amounted to approximately RM5.21 billion, or 65.1 sen per share, which represented a 452 per cent increase from the full-year dividend of FY2020 of 11.8 sen per share.  — Bernama