It said yesterday that it expects the figure for the fiscal year through August to rise “more than 25 per cent.” This is partly attributable to the volatility of the ringgit.

For the first nine months through May, profit swelled 67 per cent to RM295 million, exceeding the RM280 million for all of fiscal 2015, according to a report in the Nikkei Asian Review.

“We will have a better profit of more than 25 per cent (for the current fiscal year),” Lim Wee Chai, the group’s founder and executive chairman, told a press briefing.

Top Glove, which sells to over 200 countries using dollar-based transactions, has largely benefited from the ringgit’s volatility over the past year, according to the Nikkei report.

While raw material costs have weighed on earnings, the company and its peers in the rubber glove industry typically pass on any savings or losses resulting from cost fluctuations to customers. That means earnings are mainly determined by sales volume.

Net profit for the third quarter through May declined 13.6 per cent on the year to RM62 million due to a stronger ringgit and higher raw material prices. The higher costs would be reflected in the final quarter because of a two-month lag between orders and delivery, the Nikkei report said.

Despite the cost volatility, sales volume increased 14 per cent for the first nine months, outperforming the industry’s annual growth of 6 per cent to 8 per cent.

Top Glove produces 44.6 billion gloves annually, or about 25 per cent of global output, in 27 factories in Malaysia, Thailand and China. Natural rubber gloves account for about 60 per cent of the total, while nitrile or synthetic rubber gloves make up of 30 per cent.

Demand for premium nitrile rubber gloves has been steadily growing in Europe, America and Japan due to their nonallergenic properties, said the report.

Top Glove’s products are widely used in the healthcare and food industries, as well as in manufacturing.

The company’s stock closed 0.86 per cent lower Tuesday to finish at RM4.61.