SHAH ALAM, Malaysia—Top Glove Corp. has reported record results for the quarter ended May 31 and is looking to significantly expand production capacity to meet high demand resulted from COVID-19 pandemic.
Sales rose 42 percent year-on-year to about $240 million in the third quarter, marking the company's highest quarterly revenue, Top Glove said.
Profit before tax rose 413 percent year-on-year to about $60 million, while net profit was up 365 percent at close to $49.5 million.
Sales volume grew by 25 percent during the three-month period, which saw the widespread outbreak of COVID-19 across the globe.
Top Glove linked the "extraordinary performance" to "unparalleled growth" in volume, on the back of the pandemic.
Monthly sales orders, it said, went up by some 180 percent, resulting in long lead times, which went up from 40 days to around 400 days.
"Orders placed now would only be delivered over a year later," the company noted.
In response to high demand, the Malaysian group said it increased utilization rates at its plants from a pre-COVID-19 level of 85 percent to more than 95 percent in the third quarter.
Furthermore, Top Glove said it became "the world's largest manufacturer of nitrile gloves" during the quarter, in addition to being the world's largest manufacturer of natural rubber gloves and surgical gloves.
The glove maker said it was planning to expand production capacity in an effort to remain well-positioned to meet global glove demand, which it said is now expected to grow 12-15 percent annually due to COVID-19 concerns.
To this end, Top Glove said it had earmarked $4.2 billion to build 450 new production lines by 2026, creating capacity for the manufacture of 60 billion pieces of gloves over the next six years.