KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 20): Glove stocks emerged among the most actively traded counters on Bursa Malaysia on Monday (Nov 20), following the profit turnarounds seen at two of the Big Four glove counters so far, namely Hartalega Holdings Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, in the latest corporate earnings reporting season.

Top Glove Corp Bhd was the second most active counter of the day, as it saw 53.55 million shares done. The group's share price climbed 3.82% to 81.5 sen at the time of writing.

Also on the top 50 actively traded list were Supermax Corp Bhd, Careplus Group Bhd and Kossan. Supermax shares were up 4.5 sen or 4.95% at 95.5 sen with 18.5 million shares done, while Careplus climbed one sen or 3.51% to 29.5 sen after 12.52 million shares were traded.

Despite the general uptick in the global economy, SMEs in Malaysia’s oil and gas services and equipment (OGSE) industry may still struggle to secure competitive financing to support their operations and growth and to manage their cash flow

Kossan was trading two sen higher at RM1.60 after 9.61 million shares changed hands; the stock has climbed 26 sen or 19.4% this month. Hartalega, meanwhile, gained five sen or 2.13% to RM2.40, with 5.82 million shares traded.

Both Kossan and Hartalega reported profits for the July-to-September quarter of this year.

Kossan made a net profit of RM40.97 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3QFY2023), after two consecutive loss-making quarters when net loss totalled RM27.55 million. The 3QFY2023 net profit was also 76.14% higher than the RM23.26 million it made in 3QFY2022 - despite revenue dropping 28% to RM403.48 million from RM560.52 million - thanks to better cost controls and lower raw material costs in its glove business, as well as the sale of higher margin infrastructure products at its technical rubber products division.

Hartalega also reported a net profit of RM27.7 million for its second quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (2QFY2024), after registering three consecutive quarters of losses, with a net loss of RM52.47 million recorded in the immediate preceding quarter of 1QFY2024. Revenue grew 2.7% to RM452.09 million from 1QFY2024's RM440.04 million. 

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/690587