Hartalega reports positively flat PAT for FY14, declares 3.5 sen dividend

by **Cals** Wed 07 May 2014, 01:39

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Ahmad Naqib Idris Adzman Shah of theedgemalaysia.com

Tuesday, 06 May 2014 18:11

KUALA LUMPUR (May 6): Hartalega Holdings Bhd reported profit after tax (PAT) of RM233.7 million for its financial year ended March 31, 2014, compared to RM233.6 million in the previous year.

Revenue for the year rose by 8% to RM1.10 billion from RM1.03 billion in the year before.

The group had announced a third interim dividend payment of 3.5 sen per share for the year, as per the entitlement date on May 28, 2014, and payable June 18, 2014.

On a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, however, profit before tax fell to RM70.2 million for its fourth quarter, from RM74.6 million in the preceding quarter.

“Operating profit margins were impacted by a reduction in average selling price, higher staff cost due to recruitment for the Next Generation Integrated Glove Manufacturing Complex (NGC), as well as a rise in electricity and maintenance costs,” said the group.

However, revenue for the quarter increased to RM280.4 million from RM267.8 million from the previous quarter, which was attributed to the expansion in production capacity and an increase in demand.

Kuan Mun Leong, managing director of Hartalega, said that the group’s results were in line with expectations, given lower average selling prices due to intensified competition.

Despite the challenges, he said the group is confident that it will be able to maintain its position as a profitable manufacturer.

“To this end, our NGC is well underway with the construction of plant 1 and 2 along with supporting facilities.

“We are on track to commission our first production line in the fourth quarter of this calendar year with subsequent production lines to come on-stream progressively,” said Kuan.