This was caused by the one-off impairment on goodwill, property, plant and equipment amounting to RM389 million, the group said in its filing with Bursa Malaysia today.
The RM389 million comprised a goodwill impairment of RM138 million, and impairment and write-off of property, plant and equipment of RM251 million.
“The impairment was recognised following the operational rationalisation exercise and a review of the group’s income-generating assets to strengthen its cost competitiveness,” the filing read.
Revenue for the quarter fell 51.93% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM475.87 million from RM989.94 million in Q4 FY2022.
In a separate statement today, the group also highlighted challenges it faced in relation to the high cost of heat energy from natural gas.
This situation, it said, makes Malaysian rubber glove manufacturers less competitive compared to other countries which produce rubber gloves, as these countries benefit from lower energy costs.
“In light of this, the group suggests that rather than exporting this natural resource, it would be more beneficial to make natural gas available at a competitive price to Malaysian manufacturers.”
Doing so will encourage the growth of downstream activities, creating employment opportunities and business growth for supporting industries, while enhancing export value and increasing the inflow of foreign income, it said.
Top Glove managing director Lim Cheong Guan recognised the difficulties faced by the glove manufacturing sector stemming from inventory accumulation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, he also underscored the potential growth in glove demand following the heightened focus on hygiene and health among society.
“As the oversupply situation also continues to ease, we look forward to seeing global glove demand resuming its projected 8% to 10% growth per annum eventually and better times ahead,” said Lim.
The group added that it sees an uptick in monthly sales volume, which indicates that the glove inventory is close to being depleted.
At market close, the counter was the third-most actively traded stock on the local exchange, with 118.2 million shares exchanging hands.
Its share price was down 2.5 sen or 3.18% to 76 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM6.2 billion.