Hartalega Q2 net stretches to RM58.6m

KUALA LUMPUR: Hartalega Holdings Bhd, a premium latex glove manufacturer, posted a profit after tax (PAT) of RM58.57 million for its second quarter ended September 30 2012, a 26.8 per cent jump from the preceding fiscal year's corresponding quarter.

The group's profit before tax (PBT) rose to RM76.28 million, a 28.1 per cent rise from RM59.55 million previously.

The results were achieved on the back of a turnover of RM255.01 million compared with RM229.54 million before.

The group also recorded strong results for the first half of the financial year 2013, registering a PAT of RM112.01 million compared with RM100.91 million in the preceding year's corresponding period. 

PBT stood at RM146.19 million for the first six months of the financial year compared with RM130.22 million for the same period in the previous year. 

Meanwhile, revenue for the first half of the financial year also rose to RM502.69 million from RM448.91 million before. 

For the quarter under review, the group's earnings per share (EPS) was 8.01 sen compared with 6.34 sen previously. 

For the six-month period, EPS was 15.31 sen compared with 13.87 sen for the same period before. Its net assets per share was 94.27 sen as at September 30 2012. 

Hartalega said in a statement yesterday that in view of the strong results, the board has declared a first single-tier interim dividend of 3.5 sen per share for its financial year ending March 31 2013. The entitlement date is November 23 2012 and payable on December 13 2012. 

Hartalega's executive chairman and managing director Kuan Kam Hon said the performance was attributed to the increased manufacturing efficiency at its production plants, resulting in rising speed of production lines. 

This was further aided by a drop in raw material costs for both nitrile and latex, which decreased substantially from the record highs seen earlier this year.

[Btimes]