Monday, February 21, 2011

Latexx 4Q net profit down 36.6pct to RM10.46m on-yr on high latex prices

KUALA LUMPUR:'' LATEXX PARTNERS BHD []'s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 fell 36.6% to RM10.46 million from RM16.49 million a year ago, as high latex prices and the weakening of the US dollar affected its profit margin.

It said on Monday, Feb 21 revenue for the quarter improved 3.8% to RM106.79 million from RM102.89 million. Earnings per share were 4.78 sen while net assets per share was RM1.09.

Latexx proposed a tax exempt final dividend of 5% per ordinary share of 50 sen each for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010, Latexx's net profit rose 37.1% to RM70.35 million from RM51.32 million, on the back revenue RM497.32 million.

Latexx said the increase in its revenue and improvement in the net profit were mainly due to the increase in overall sales volume, driven by the strong demand of gloves and the group's expanded capacity from six billion pieces per annum to seven billion pieces per annum.

The stronger performance was also attributed by measures taken to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in operation control; as well as intensified and aggressive marketing strategy, it said.

On its prospects, Latexx said it would step up its product presence and market share in other geographical markets beside the US. Ultimately, the group aims to enlarge its revenue based by capturing more market shares in the non-US markets, it said. Latexx said its current customer base was very much centric to the US market, making up about 70% of the total sales.

'In the past, the group has not tried to tap into the rest of the regions beside the North America market; these regions are inclusive of the Europe, Middle East, Japan, India and China markets.

'The group has recently decided to strategically enter into these markets that are potentially larger than the US market and other advanced markets,' it said.

No comments:

Post a Comment