By John Cheng
June 9, 2022
The world’s largest rubber glove maker has lost $16 billion in market value since the height of the pandemic as countries around the world shed their Covid-era restrictions.
Malaysia’s Top Glove Corp., one of the hottest trades during the virus outbreak, has seen its shares plunge 88% from a peak in 2020. Softer demand due to vaccine rollouts, rising input costs and competition from rivals are hurting the firm’s earnings, analysts say.
The slump underscores the shift in global sentiment as borders reopen, trade resumes and the world learns to live with the Covid-19 virus. The glove producer’s stock is trailing all its peers in the Malaysian benchmark gauge this year after shedding more than 50% to slide to the lowest level since December 2017.
The company, which manufactures one of every five gloves in the world, is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings Thursday. Investors will be watching for any further decline in selling prices, as well as demand from the US after the nation lifted an import ban last year.
