INTEGRATED RUBBER CORPORATION (-ve)
RUBBER glove manufacturer Integrated Rubber Corporation Bhd (IRCB) (Fundamental: 1.8/3, Valuation: 0/3) rose 3.0% to 84.5 sen on heavy volume last Friday. IRCB is a beneficiary of the weaker ringgit as it derives approximately 90% of its sales from export markets. 

The PN17 company was loss-making in FYJan2011-FY2014 but started to turn around in 1QFY15. For FY2015, it posted a net profit of RM4.3 million, reversing a net loss of RM19.3 million in FY2014, thanks to higher utilisation rate, increased demand for specialty gloves and favourable exchange rates.

IRCB turned into a net cash position in FY2014 and completed its regularisation plan in November 2014. Moving forward, it will increase its production capacity and rationalise its product mix to produce more nitrile gloves.

The stock is trading at a high trailing 12-month P/E of 83 times and 3.7 times book.  No dividend was paid for the past five years.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 15, 2015.