KOSSAN at a glance

 

Positive outlook for Kossan on strong greenback

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Research remains positive on Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd even as the company faces margin compression risks due to higher operating costs.

The company is facing a gas-tariff review, and cost escalations in natural rubber and acrylonitrile prices. These factors, however, are offset by the strengthening of the US dollar against the ringgit since the company’s export sales are denominated in the greenback.

RHB Research said recent operating dynamics overall have turned in favour of glove manufacturers, as the research house understands that customers are more receptive to average selling price (ASP) increases in the coming months.

“We believe more meaningful price hikes are likely to take place in April and May. Conversely, Chinese glove makers are expected to raise ASPs to US$16-US$17 per 1,000 pieces from US$15-US$16 previously for the coming months based on our channel checks,” the research house said.

“On the demand side, the value of Malaysia’s first quarter glove exports surged 5% year-on-year, surpassing export volume growth. This indicates the cost pass-through mechanism’s momentum is picking up,” the research house added.

It maintained its “buy” call on the counter with a higher target price of RM2.40 based on the discounted cash flow calculation, from RM2.20.

The rating is premised on a meaningful improvement in market dynamics anticipated by the second half of the year and Kossan’s consistent dividend payout practices, the research house said.

The target price incorporates a new 5% environmental, social and governance (ESG) discount based on its 2.8 ESG score compared to the country median of three.

The score was raised from 2.6 before after the company demonstrated a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, primarily due to higher renewable energy consumption through solar power during the year, RHB Research said.

“Following a housekeeping exercise, our 2024 and 2025 forecast earnings are raised by 4% in both years after incorporating figures from Kossan’s latest annual report,” the research house said.

RHB Research expects Kossan to deliver core profit of between RM30mil and RM35mil in its first quarter on the back of improving operating dynamics

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2024/05/01/positive-outlook-for-kossan-on-strong-greenback

KOSSAN at a glance

 

Kossan

 

Kossan 11.4.2016

Top Chart:  Chart of Revenue, PBT and EPS.over 13 years

Revenue = Red line
PBT = Green line
EPS = Blue line

Bottom Chart:  Chart of EPS, High Price and Low Price over the last 13 years

EPS = Brown line
High Price = Blue line
Low Price = Purple line

Rubber gloves sector downgraded to neutral

PETALING JAYA: Maybank Investment Bank Research has downgraded the rubber gloves sector from “overweight” to “neutral” as the valuations of the stocks are fairly reflective of fundamentals now.

Analyst Lee Yen Ling said price-to-earnings (PER) valuations had risen from eight to 16 times end-2012 to 11 to 19 times currently.

“Though new supply (for nitrile gloves) looks aggressive, near-term price competition is likely to be mild, for new capacity will just about match demand, we believe, with the latter expanding by about 20% year-on-year,” she said.

Demand for nitrile glove sales were also driven by a shift in customer preference from latex powder-free to nitrile gloves, she said, adding that margins for nitrile gloves remained higher compared with latex gloves by more than 6 percentage points as a result of higher pricing and lower raw material cost.

Lee pointed out that glove manufacturers usually did not gain or lose significantly on foreign exchange volatility as most of them bought forward contracts which expired in two to three months to sell US dollars when they delivered the products as a way to hedge their US-denominated receivables.

She added that the recent fuel price hike, which led to higher transportation costs for the companies, had insignificant impact on them as transportation accounted for only 2% to 3% of total costs, thus they were not adjusting glove prices.

The research house’s top pick was Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd on the back of its better value proposition compared with its peers.

She has given a higher target price of RM7.60 to the counter as she revised Kossan’s PER upwards to 16 times from 15 times.

Meanwhile, she maintained a “hold” rating on Hartalega Holdings Bhd with the same target price of RM6.71 whereas the target price for Top Glove Corp Bhd was re-rated downwards to RM6.40 with a downgraded “hold” call as weaker latex powder-free glove sales were factored in.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2013/09/25/Rubber-gloves-sector-downgraded-to-neutral.aspx

Kossan

Market Watch

Recent Financial Results

Announcement Date		Financial Yr. End		Qtr	Period End		Revenue RM '000		Profit/Lost RM'000		EPS		Amended
17-Nov-11		31-Dec-11		3	30-Sep-11		278,531		24,006		7.39		-
24-Aug-11		31-Dec-11		2	30-Jun-11		275,610		21,298		6.55		-
19-May-11		31-Dec-11		1	31-Mar-11		256,446		23,379		7.18		-
23-Feb-11		31-Dec-10		4	31-Dec-10		252,973		29,450		9.18		-

Share Price Performance
	High   Low Prices 1 Month 3.200   (14-Nov-11) 2.790   (31-Oct-11)   Prices 3 Months 3.200   (14-Nov-11) 2.480   (20-Sep-11) Prices 12 Months 3.400   (31-Mar-11) 2.480   (20-Sep-11) Volume 12 Months 29,936   (15-Mar-11) 17   (27-Jun-11)

Kossan 4Q net profit up 21.4pct to RM29.45m on better product mix, margin

Kossan 4Q net profit up 21.4pct to RM29.45m on better product mix, margin
Written by Surin Murugiah of theedgemalaysia.com
Wednesday, 23 February 2011 20:51


KUALA LUMPUR: KOSSAN RUBBER INDUSTRIES BHD [] net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 rose 21.4% to RM29.45 million from RM24.25 million a year ago, driven by the expansion in the company’s gloves division with better product mix and margin.

It said on Wednesday, Feb 23 revenue rose 11% to RM252.97 million from RM227.75 million. Earnings per share were 9.18 sen while net assets per share was RM1.40.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010, Kossan’s net profit recorded an increase of 76.1% to RM118.59 million from RM67.33 million a year ago. Revenue rose 24.6% to RM1.05 billion from RM842.14 million.

Kossan said the results for 2010 were within expectations. “For the year, demand for gloves remains good and management is cautiously optimistic of consistent performance in the financial year of 2011,” it said.

A Brief Look at Kossan

Kossan Rubber Industries Berhad

Business Description:
Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd. is a Malaysia-based company engaged in investment holding and manufacturing and sales of rubber products. The Company offers molded rubber products, extruded rubber products, engineered rubber products, colored ethylene propylene diene Monomer (EPDM), rollers, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyurethane (PU) products and gloves. It has 49 production lines with an annual production capacity of 3.9 billion pieces of gloves. Its ultimate holding company is Kossan Holdings (M) Sdn. Bhd. As of December 31, 2009, the Company's direct subsidiaries were Kossan Latex Industries (M) Sdn. Bhd., Perusahaan Getah Asas Sdn. Bhd., Hibon Corporation Sdn. Bhd., Doshin Rubber Products (M) Sdn. Bhd., Ideal Quality Sdn. Bhd., Kossan Engineering (M) Sdn. Bhd. and Top Calibre Sdn. Bhd.

Current Price (7/1/2011): 3.35
2009 Sales 842,135,011
Employees: 665
Market Cap: 1,071,108,900
Shares Outstanding: 319,734,000
Closely Held Shares: 183,367,192

Recent Financial Results

Announcement Date		Financial Yr. End		Qtr	Period End		Revenue RM '000		Profit/Lost RM'000		EPS		Amended
18-Nov-10		31-Dec-10		3	30-Sep-10		275,635		28,531		8.93		-
26-Aug-10		31-Dec-10		2	30-Jun-10		256,495		30,123		9.43#		-
20-May-10		31-Dec-10		1	31-Mar-10		262,769		30,379		9.51#		-
24-Nov-09		31-Dec-09		3	30-Sep-09		210,088		15,286		4.78#		-

# adjusted for 2010  1/1 Bonus.


Estimated EPS for 2011  = 4*8.93 = 35.72 sen
At price of 3.35, it is trading at prospective 2011 PE = 3.35 / 0.3572 = 9.4x

Historical
5 Yr
PE range    7.6 - 14.4
DY range   2.2% -  1.1%

10 Yr

PE range    8.0 - 14.8

DY range   2.3% - 1.2%

Year    DPS   EPS

2000    0.6     0.2

2001    0.3     1.0

2002    0.3     4.7

2003    1.2     5.2

2004    0.8     6.9

2005    1.5     9.1

2006    2.3   12.4

2007    2.9   16.7

2008    3.5   19.2

2009    2.6   20.4

9M10   9.0   27.82    NTA  1.31

Capital Changes

2003   1/5 Bonus

2005   1 to 2 Share Split, 1/5 Bonus

2010   1/1 Bonus

Kossan

Date announced 18/11/2010
Quarter 30/12/2010 Qtr 3 FYE 31/12/2010

STOCK Kossan C0DE  7153 

Price $ 3.21 Curr. PE (ttm-Eps) 9.09 Curr. DY 0.80%
LFY Div 2.57 DPO ratio 12%
ROE 27.0% PBT Margin 13.8% PAT Margin 10.4%

Rec. qRev 275635 q-q % chg 7% y-y% chq 31%
Rec qPbt 38108 q-q % chg 5% y-y% chq 83%
Rec. qEps 8.93 q-q % chg -5% y-y% chq 86%
ttm-Eps 35.32 q-q % chg 13% y-y% chq 92%

Using VERY CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES:
EPS GR 5% Avg.H PE 8.00 Avg. L PE 5.00
Forecast High Pr 3.61 Forecast Low Pr 2.45 Recent Severe Low Pr 2.45
Current price is at Middle 1/3 of valuation zone.

 RISK: Upside 34% Downside 66%
One Year Appreciation Potential 2% Avg. yield 2%
Avg. Total Annual Potential Return (over next 5 years) 4%

CPE/SPE 1.40 P/NTA 2.45 NTA 1.31 SPE 6.50 Rational Pr 2.30



Decision:
Already Owned: Buy Hold Sell Filed Review (future acq): Filed Discard: Filed
Guide: Valuation zones Lower 1/3 Buy Mid. 1/3 Maybe Upper 1/3 Sell

Aim:
To Buy a bargain: Buy at Lower 1/3 of Valuation Zone
To Minimise risk of Loss: Buy when risk is low i.e UPSIDE GAIN > 75% OR DOWNSIDE RISK <25%
To Double every 5 years: Seek for POTENTIAL RETURN of > 15%/yr.
To Prevent Loss: Sell immediately when fundamentals deteriorate
To Maximise Gain & Reduce Loss: Sell when CPE/SPE > 1.5, when in Upper 1/3 of Valuation Zone & Returns < 15%/yr

----

Kossan Q3 profit jumps on unit expansion
Published: 2010/11/18

Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd's pre-tax profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2010 jumped to RM38 million from RM21 million in same quarter of 2009.

Revenue increased to RM276 million from RM210 million previously.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, it said the better results were due to the expansion in the gloves division with better product mix and margin.

"The other contributor was the higher selling price in line with the increased in raw materials, it said.

Going forward, Kossan Rubber said, it was cautiously optimistic in the remaining quarter of the financial year, with demand for gloves expected to remain strong. -- Bernama


Read more: Kossan Q3 profit jumps on unit expansion http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20101118200243/Article/index_html#ixzz15ddHVyy3

Kossan

Date announced 26/08/2010
Quarter 30/06/2010 Qtr 2
FYE 31/12/2010

STOCK Kossan
C0DE  7153 

Price $ 3.13 Curr. PE (ttm-Eps) 5.02 Curr. DY 1.64%
LFY Div 5.13 DPO ratio 12%
ROE 24.8% PBT Margin 14.1% PAT Margin 11.7%

Rec. qRev 256495 q-q % chg -2% y-y% chq 30%
Rec qPbt 36253 q-q % chg -7% y-y% chq 116%
Rec. qEps 18.77 q-q % chg -1% y-y% chq 123%
ttm-Eps 62.38 q-q % chg 20% y-y% chq 70%

Using VERY CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES:
EPS GR 5% Avg.H PE 7.00 Avg. L PE 5.00
Forecast High Pr 5.57 Forecast Low Pr 2.95 Recent Severe Low Pr 2.95
Current price is at Lower 1/3 of valuation zone.

RISK: Upside 93% Downside 7%
One Year Appreciation Potential 16% Avg. yield 3%
Avg. Total Annual Potential Return (over next 5 years) 19%

CPE/SPE 0.84 P/NTA 1.24 NTA 2.52 SPE 6.00 Rational Pr 3.74



Decision:
Already Owned: Buy Hold Sell Filed Review (future acq): Filed Discard: Filed
Guide: Valuation zones Lower 1/3 Buy Mid. 1/3 Maybe Upper 1/3 Sell

Aim:
To Buy a bargain: Buy at Lower 1/3 of Valuation Zone
To Minimise risk of Loss: Buy when risk is low i.e UPSIDE GAIN > 75% OR DOWNSIDE RISK <25%
To Double every 5 years: Seek for POTENTIAL RETURN of > 15%/yr.
To Prevent Loss: Sell immediately when fundamentals deteriorate
To Maximise Gain & Reduce Loss: Sell when CPE/SPE > 1.5, when in Upper 1/3 of Valuation Zone & Returns < 15%/yr

Association tells glove makers to up prices

Written by Surin Murugiah
Wednesday, 20 October 2010 15:16


KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers’ Association (Margma), whose members collectively supply 60% of the global rubber latex glove consumption, advised its members to raise glove prices in line with high raw material costs and continued weakening of the US dollar.

This may well explain the share price surge among the rubber glove makers on Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

Top Glove Corporation Bhd rose 19 sen to RM5.68 Supermax Corporation Bhd was up 14 sen sen to RM4.65, Latexx Partners Bhd up four sen to RM2.86, and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd gained two sen to RM2.86.

But Hartalega Holdings Bhd shed four sen to RM5.42 while Rubberex Corporation (M) Bhd lost 0.5 sen to 85.5 sen.

In a statement yesterday, Margma president KM Lee said most rubber glove manufacturers had started raising selling prices of their products to reflect the rising raw material costs and the weakening of the US dollar.

“If the orders forthcoming do not match the glove price requested, glove makers have no choice but to reduce the output,” said Lee.

Margma said the price of natural rubber latex had increased by about 19% from an average 657.25 sen/kg in January 2010 to a new record high of 782 sen/kg last Friday.

Meanwhile, the US dollar has weakened against the ringgit by around 13% compared to 12 months ago, it said.

Rubber futures contract in Shanghai hit an all-time high yesterday boosted by strong demand at a time of restricted supply in main producing countries. Concerns that rubber production in China will be affected by typhoons also lent support to the futures price.

The Shanghai rubber futures contract for March delivery hit a record 33,000 yuan (RM15,438) per tonne, up 3.8% from the previous high of 31,800 yuan per tonne marked on Oct 15.

Lee said despite the strong headwinds, the industry would remain bullish as demand for gloves was expected to grow at between 8% and 10% annually.

“We expect further growth in the industry on the back of rising healthcare awareness in emerging markets, especially in China, India and the Latin American countries.

“Comparatively, the healthcare expenditure in these regions is relatively low against what is being spent in the US, Europe and Japan,” said Lee.

Lee added that the domestic glove industry was to a large extent recession-proof and was relatively unscathed even during the recent economic downturn, mainly due to gloves being a necessity in the healthcare sector.

However, he pointed out that the glove industry was facing constant challenge with the ever-fluctuating raw material prices, particularly natural rubber latex for rubber gloves and crude oil for nitrile gloves.

The association also urged the government to be considerate in the removal of the natural gas subsidy by not overburdening an already challenging industry with a big and sudden gas price hike.

The removal of the subsidy for natural gas should be done over a period of time, it said.

The association has 46 members and 89 associate members. The ordinary membership is open to all bona fide rubber glove makers in Malaysia while others who directly involved in the trade or industry are eligible for associate membership.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, October 20, 2010.

Rubber gloves closer to the bottom, value emerging

Rubber gloves closer to the bottom, value emerging

Written by Financial Daily

Tuesday, 12 October 2010 11:53

Rubber gloves Upgrade to neutral from underweight: Following our downgrade on Sept 15, glove stocks fell by as much as 11% to 22% and then rebounded by 2% to 24% in the past one or two weeks. In this report, we examine the floor values, using worst case growth assumptions over 2011/13. We upgrade Kossan to a “buy” with unchanged target price (TP) of RM3.60 but maintain ratings for Top Glove (“sell”, revised TP RM4.90) and Hartalega (“hold”, unchanged TP RM5.40). To derive our rock bottom discounted cash flow (DCF) valuations, we have lowered our already conservative assumptions to a worst case scenario of slower global new demand growth and lower market share increment. Subsequently, our worst case DCF valuations could be cut by 13% to 22% to: Top Glove: RM4.72, Hartalega: RM5.03 and Kossan: RM3.17. Both Hartalega and Kossan are already trading at our worst case scenario valuations. However, we see a potential 10% to 12% downside to Top Glove’s share price. While we believe our base case fundamentals remain intact, the market could potentially look at trough valuations before glovemakers can deliver their fundamental results. We are now buyers of Kossan because: (i) its share price has fallen 16% below our TP and is already at our worst case valuation; (ii) trading at a forward PER of seven times, Kossan is the cheapest big-cap glovemaker with comparable qualities; and (iii) its share price underperformance of 3% relative to Top Glove is unjustifiable, given that its EPS growth going forward is stronger than Top Glove’s, coupled with more production in the increasingly sought-after nitrile segment. No change to our earnings forecasts and TP. We maintain Top Glove at “sell” because the company posted very weak 4QFY10 results last week (pretax profit: -47% year-on-year, -49% quarter-on-quarter) and is likely to see earnings contract next year. We cut our FY11/13 EPS by 8% to 9% and TP to RM4.90 from RM5.40. We continue to peg a 10% discount on our new RM5.40 DCF valuation (previously RM6) as we expect its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margin to revert to pre-Brazil/H1N1 levels of 15%. Based on our revised earnings forecasts, the stock now trades at relatively pricey valuation of 14 times CY11 PER (against its five-year historical average of 12 times and peers of five to 10 times) on a sector lowest three-year net profit CAGR of 4%. Our “hold” call on Hartalega remains, as the company appears to be more invincible than its peers with share price outperformance of 19%. Nevertheless, we would only be inclined to upgrade the stock when the oversupply situation has eased, likely in the next three months. No change to our earnings forecasts and TP. — Maybank IB Bhd Research, Oct 11 This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, October 12, 2010.

So, you like Glove Sector - Which Stock will you Pick?

Analysis of the Glove Sector.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AuRRzs61sKqRdDM1ZFNXQ2ZPRHBYcFJjd1lDNFVYdFE&hl=en&output=html

The top 6 glove companies are priced at RM 8.7 billion in market capitalization.  They generated a total of about RM 766 million in earnings the last 12 months.

A quick look at Kossan (21.5.2010)

A quick look at Kossan (21.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tOMR-3_0XEDLwnGGLwwcqrA&output=html

A quick look at Kossan (8.5.2010)

A quick look at Kossan (8.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=ttaoTf7WwIlRuWyNhWEz7xg&output=html

Comparative Analysis of Glove Companies

Comparative Analysis of Glove Companies
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tiEBLAmYR0EJiE7ccJcc8bw&output=html

Malaysian Glovemakers Fall on Higher Rubber, Ringgit

Bloomberg

Malaysian Glovemakers Fall 

on Higher Rubber, Ringgit 

April 13, 2010, 5:12 AM EDT

By Barry Porter

April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysian glovemakers led by Top Glove Corp. declined in Kuala Lumpur trading on the prospect a surge in rubber prices and a higher ringgit will increase costs and lower the value of overseas earnings, damping earnings.

Top Glove fell 4.4 percent to 12.90 ringgit at the close, its biggest retreat in almost a year. About 21 percent of the company’s revenues in the year to Aug. 31 were made outside Malaysia. Supermax Corp., which makes the majority of its sales in America, slid 3.6 percent to 6.64 ringgit.

Rubber futures reached a 20-month high in Tokyo trading yesterday, increasing the cost of latex used in medical and other protective gloves, while the ringgit touched a 23-month high against the dollar. A higher local currency reduces the value of overseas sales when converted back into ringgit.

“With higher latex costs, a weaker ringgit against the U.S. dollar and potential pricier energy costs, we see growing concern for earlier-than-expected margin compression,” AmResearch said in a report on April 9. Investors are concerned that glove-makers won’t be able to pass on all the increased costs to their customers, it said.

AmResearch downgraded the sector to “underweight” on April 9. Top Glove was cut to “hold” with a lower fair value of 12.50 ringgit. Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd. was reduced to “hold” with its fair value trimmed to 7.65 ringgit. The stock lost 4.4 percent to 7.56 ringgit today.

Demand Boost

Glovemakers have outpaced the broader market in the past 12 months as global health scares bolstered medical glove demand. Top Glove has jumped 141 percent in the period as first-quarter and second-quarter earnings almost doubled from a year earlier. Kossan rallied 136 percent and Supermax gained 498 percent.

Global demand rose by 10 billion units last year, while Malaysia manufacturers increased output by less than 5 billion pieces, according to Jason Yap, an analyst with OSK Research Sdn.

“Demand is still strong compared to supply,” Yap said in a telephone interview today. “Maybe by the end of this year it will reach equilibrium when additional capacity comes on stream.”

Yap, who believes today’s drops are “short-term retracements”, retains “buy” ratings on Malaysia’s largest glove makers, with a 15.15 ringgit share target for Top Glove, 11.30 ringgit for Kossan and 10.00 ringgit for Supermax.

--Editors: Richard Frost, Reinie Booysen

To contact the reporter on this story: Barry Porter at bporter10@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Linus Chua at lchua@bloomberg.net

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-13/malaysian-glovemakers-fall-on-higher-rubber-ringgit-update1-.html

Brokers still bullish on gloves

Glove manufacturers: Buy

Nomura Securities Malaysia says the recently passed healthcare reform bill in the US will boost sentiment on the shares of glove makers like Kossan Rubber (7153) , Supermax and Top Glove. It has a "buy" call on all three stocks.

The historic development in the US last Sunday will have a widespread impact and the immediate-term effects will all lead to an increased demand for healthcare from now on, the stockbroker said.

Nomura sees glove makers as only standing to benefit at the moment from these healthcare developments, given that gloves are relatively price-inelastic necessities.

"Besides the positive sentiment generated by the passing of the reform bill, we see all the companies as key long-term beneficiaries given their US sales exposure, with Kossan and Supermax being more well-placed to capitalise on demand upticks," the stockbroker said in a report on March 22.

Kossan Rubber makes half of its sales from the US, while Supermax has 42 per cent sales coming from there. Top Glove's US sales from the US is only 26 per cent.

"Given that Supermax pursues OBM model, its distribution arm, Supermax Inc, has existing ties with hospitals, nursing homes and dental clinics. This allows it to more directly tap in to any increased demand coming from those networks."

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/bv25a/Article/

Rubber glove companies enjoy pricing power and steadily rising sales

Judging from the capacity expansion by rubber glove companies, it appears that larger glove companies like Top Glove, Supermax and Sempermed (Thailand) have more moderate expansion plans as a percentage of existing capacity, while smaller ones like Latexx and Adventa have more aggressive expansion plans and are likely to show higher earnings growth in 2010. 

An oversupply of rubber gloves is unlikely in 2010 but could be a worry in 2011 when more capacity comes onstream. Assuming that the 150 billion-a-year medical glove market grows by 8% a year, an additional capacity of 12 billion gloves will be required per year.  Rubber glove companies have been able to pass on higher costs arising from rising latex prices, with Top Glove increasing prices again in January 2010. 

Nevertheless, producers of nitrile gloves may now enjoy better margins as the cost advantage that latex gloves enjoy over nitrile gloves may have narrowed as latex prices have risen faster than nitrile prices.  Ratings of Malaysian rubber glove companies are still cheaper than those of Ansell, SSL International and the Malaysian market.

The Edge
1.2.2010
By Choong Khuat Hock


Comments:

The whole glove industry is growing.  Due to capacity expansion and their smaller sizes, the smaller glove companies are expected to show faster earnings growth than the bigger glove companies.

The industry business is still resilient.  Profit margin is either maintained or improving.  Glove companies are still able to pass the cost to the customers.  How long will this last?

This industry is highly competitive.  The business is driven by volume and price.  When capacity to supply outstrips demand, those companies with durable competitive advantage are expected to survive.  Those low cost producers will be the big winners and leaders.  Those companies that automate their production with good quality control will probably be able to lower their costs per unit through increasing productivity.  It is possible that those leveraging on low human labour costs now with no or few plans for increasing automation of the manufacturing processes, may eventually lose out to the former in the future both in terms of quality, productivity and costs.

Glove Sector 31.12.2009

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=t6TE7RNPw5F-C3fpPVBWFKQ&output=html