PETALING JAYA: Top Glove Corp Bhd saw strength in its orders in its latest reported second quarter of financial year 2026 (2Q26), although the operating environment continues to remain challenging.
Local currency strength had crimped its bottomline in 2Q26 and it is now contending also with higher raw material costs, namely for nitrile latex.
The company saw sales volume growing 57% year-on-year (y-o-y) in 2Q26 and 23% quarter-on-quarter.
This resulted in the latest quarter’s sales revenue coming in at RM1bil, which is a 14% y-o-y increase.
Net profit for the quarter was at RM31mil, nearly flat from the same quarter a year ago, as Top Glove noted that excluding currency effects, its net profit would have nearly doubled y-o-y.
Top Glove said the sudden and sharp weakening of the US dollar from mid 2Q26 had impacted itself, despite its prudent and consistent hedging policy, the steep currency movement had limited its ability to fully mitigate this impact.
Nevertheless, continued improvements in cost management and quality efficiency, together with higher utilisation rates had helped it offset a significant portion of the adverse currency effects, it said.
But while raw material costs dropped slightly in the quarter with prices for both natural rubber latex concentrate and nitrile latex down 3% and 2% respectively, the company noted this front could be more challenged moving forward.
The present conflict in the Middle East has given rise to global crude oil supply disruption, which affects the availability of nitrile latex, a key raw material for its nitrile gloves.
Its founder and executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai said nitrile latex prices have effectively doubled due to the supply shortage as demand remains relatively intact.
“Nitrile latex has increased from US$750 to US$1,500 per tonne. In the last few days we also booked and ordered some (grades) even higher at US$1,900 to US$2,000 per tonne.
“Our glove prices have also been adjusted accordingly, for the last week of March we have increased our price with a small adjustment.
“In April, we see a big increase of US$5 to US$9 per thousand pieces,” Lim said at a press briefing yesterday.
On average, Lim said the effective price increase that will be seen in April is about US$7 per thousand pieces – and this is sufficient as a full cost pass through.
“The price adjustment will be just enough to cover the rise on our end.
“We have explained it to our customers and they understand it.
“This is very fluid and depends on global prices – it can go up and may come down eventually as well.
“If raw material prices are high, there will be higher prices as well,” he said.