Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on February 18, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: HLT Global Bhd has been receiving enquiries from China after the Covid-19 virus outbreak as many glove manufacturers have yet to resume production since the Lunar New Year break.

Its chief executive officer cum executive director Chan Yoke Chun said the group has seen “positive signs” of more orders.

“We have various new enquiries every day, especially from China. But, I think this is what other gloves players (local rubber gloves manufacturers) are facing (uptake in demand for their rubber gloves) also.”

“It was just these few weeks, as we started to get enquiries [about the supply of rubber gloves] from China, it is because they (China’s manufactures) have stopped producing rubber gloves since Chinese New Year,” Chan added.

However, at this juncture, Chan is unable to quantify on possible new orders, noting that the company is currently negotiating with clients on new enquiries.

Nonetheless, Chan is optimistic about the outlook for the company and she is expecting this year to be “a good year” for the company.

HLT Global returned to the black with a net profit of RM6.89 million for the nine-month period ended Sept 30, 2019 (9MFY19) compared to a net loss of RM5.70 million for 9MFY18. Its revenue grew nearly 30% to RM114.71 million, from RM88.37 million for the previous corresponding period.

Currently, the group’s 55%-owned HL Rubber Industries Sdn Bhd operates a manufacturing plant in Kuala Pilah and it has a total production capacity of about 1.1 billion pieces of gloves.

Earlier, it was reported that Top Glove Corp Bhd, the world’s largest glovemaker, has seen a sudden spike in orders from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, citing that orders has doubled their usual volume.

 

New technology in glove industry

HLT Global has been granted the exclusive right of the high density triple former holder assembly technology by teaming up with AF Solution Sdn Bhd and N S Kumar.

Kumar is the inventor of the high density triple former holder assembly technology. AF Solution is principally involved in the provision of maintenance work for machinery in the glove industry.

Yesterday, HLT Global’s wholly-owned subsidiary HL Advance Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd signed a patent licence agreement with AF Solution and the inventor.

HLT Global hopes to achieve commercialisation of the technology in the next six to 12 months and it will introduce it to both local and overseas market.

Hence, Chan is expecting this new technology to start contributing to the group’s top line as early as end-2021.

With the new technology, the company’s production could be increased by 30% to 50%, compared with the double former line. While operational cost and capital expenditure could be reduced by 20% to 30% by using this latest technology.

The duration for the patent licencing is three years and can be extended on mutual agreement between the parties.

HLT Global’s share price dropped 0.5 sen to 26.5 sen yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM135.67 million.

Since its debut on Bursa Malaysia on Jan 10, 2017, the stock has fallen some 41% from its initial public offering price of 45 sen.

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