Hartalega’s Q2 net profit surges more than 5 times

PETALING JAYA: Hartalega Holdings Bhd posted over a fivefold increase in net profit to RM554.96 million for its second quarter ended Sept 30, 2020 from RM103.87 million in the same quarter of the previous year on the back of significantly higher revenue.

Revenue for the quarter stood at RM1.35 billion, an 89.7% improvement from RM709.42 million previously, on the back of increased sales volume and higher average selling price and further supported by improved production efficiency.

For the six months period, its net profit surged 386.3% to RM764.68 million from RM197.93 million. Revenue for the period improved 67.9% to RM2.27 billion from RM1.35 billion.

Hartalega declared a first interim dividend of 3.85 sen per share for the financial year ending March 31, 2021 payable on Dec 18, 2020.

According to the group’s Bursa filing, it expects global demand for medical supplies to remain strong due to the Covid-19 pandemic as cases continue to soar in the US, India, and Latin American and other countries.

Overall projected growth in demand is expected to outstrip supply for the next few years, it said in the filing.

Meanwhile, Hartalega has continued with its expansion plans, which has seen all 12 production lines in its Next Generation Complex Plant 6 being fully commissioned. After the progressive commissioning of Plant 7, its annual capacity is expected to grow from 41 billion pieces now to 44 billion pieces by FY22.