KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — Hartalega Holdings Bhd’s net profit jumped 565 per cent to RM2.89 billion in the financial year ended March 31, 2021 (FY21) from RM433.62 million a year ago.

Revenue surged 129 per cent to RM6.69 billion from RM2.92 billion, mainly contributed by the increase in the average selling price of gloves as well as sales volume.

For the fourth quarter, net profit increased 878 per cent to RM1.12 billion from RM114.42 million in the same period a year ago, while revenue climbed some 196 per cent to RM2.30 billion from RM778.24 million previously.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, Hartalega said the group will continue to expand its capacity in the Next Generation Integrated Glove Manufacturing Complex (NGC) in Sepang.

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To-date, six out of 10 lines in Plant 7 have been commissioned, and upon full commissioning, the plant will have an annual installed capacity of 2.7 billion pieces.

In addition, construction of the upcoming expansion, NGC 1.5, is currently underway and the group targets to commission the first line by December 2021.

“NGC 1.5 expansion plans include four additional production plants, which will contribute 19 billion pieces to the annual installed capacity.

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“With these expansion plans in place, the group’s annual installed capacity is expected to increase to 63 billion pieces over the next two to three years,” Hartalega said.

On the global front, new waves of Covid-19 outbreak are reported especially in South America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

As a result of the pandemic, the demand for medical supplies, such as gloves, is expected to remain elevated in the immediate term.

Post-pandemic, the sector is expected to undergo a structural step-up in demand on the back of increased glove usage from emerging markets with low gloves consumption per capita and heightened hygiene awareness.

“To ensure the group continues to deliver gloves to frontliners globally without disruption, Hartalega will continue to enforce the Covid-19 preventive measures that were put in place to minimise the risk of infections within its operations in Malaysia.

“These include implementing ‘Green Barrier Strategy’ to further improve segregation measures, enforcing social distancing measures, awareness programme, entry screening procedure, installing thermal scanners at high traffic locations, staggered shift hours and frequent sanitising at common areas,” it said.

The group has also entered into sales and purchase agreements for the acquisition of about 101 hectares of land in Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah.

The acquisition marks Hartalega’s latest phase of growth, with an investment of RM7 billion to build 16 new manufacturing facilities over the next 20 years.

Coupled with the earlier investment in Sepang (24 hectares) and Banting (38 hectares), these acquisitions will enable Hartalega to realise its capacity growth plans to achieve 95 billion pieces by 2027. — Bernama