DESCRIPTION

Among the world’s largest glove manufacturer by market capitalization. Renowned for its innovative technological methods.

12-month Target Price
RM1.44
Current Price
RM1.32
Expected Return
9.1%
Previous Target Price
RM2.05
Market
Main
Sector
Rubber Gloves
Bursa Code
5168
Bloomberg Ticker
HART MK
Shariah-Compliant
Yes

SHARE PRICE CHART

[Chart data from 1.00 to 4.00, Feb-25 to Aug-25, is represented textually as images are not permitted.]

52 Week Range (RM)
1.31-4.00
3-Month Average Vol (‘000)
7,093.1

SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE
1M 3M 6M
Absolute Returns -13.7 -39.7 -62.5
Relative Returns -13.1 -38.1 -61.3

KEY STOCK DATA
Market Capitalisation (RMm)
4,505.5
No. of Shares (m)
3,413.3

MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS
%
Hartalega Industries Sdn Bhd 34.4
Budi Tenggara Sdn Bhd 8.6
Kumpulan Wang Persaraan 5.6

Below Expectations

Hartalega posted a net profit of RM12.6m in 1QFY26, falling 61% YoY from RM31.9m, primarily due to lower sales volume and ASPs. After adjusting for non-operating items, Hartalega’s core net profit stood at RM8.3m in 1QFY26, down 77% YoY from RM36.7m in 1QFY25. The results came in below both our and streets’ estimates at only 5% and 6% of full-year forecasts respectively. The discrepancy in our earnings forecasts was mainly due to the lower-than-expected ASPs and sales volume. Given the challenging operating environment, marred by industry overcapacity and aggressive price competition from Chinese players, we cut our FY26F-28F earnings forecasts by an average of 31% to reflect lower sales volume and ASPs going forward. All told, we reiterate our Neutral call on Hartalega, with a lower TP of RM1.44, pegged to 1.2x CY26F BVPS, near -1SD of its 1-year historical mean.

Revenue. Hartalega’s 1QFY26 revenue declined by 9.6% QoQ on lower sales volume while blended ASP fell by 5% to c.USD21/1k pcs. As US customers front-loaded their purchases to stockpile ahead of the expected tariff increase, orders were coming in slower-than-expected. This was aggravated by sustained pricing pressure from Chinese players. As a result, Hartalega’s utilisation rate declined to 67% in 1QFY26 (from 77% in 4QFY25), based on 37bn pcs/annum in 1QFY26.

Net profit. After stripping off the non-operating items, Hartalega reported a core net profit of RM8.3m in 1QFY26, compared to a loss of RM5.5m. Hartalega continues to focus on cost optimisation efforts, having trimmed its workforce from 8k to 6.3k, with further reduction anticipated as automation initiatives kick in. Additionally, the current headcount of 6.3k is able to support production capacity of 2.3bn pcs/month compared to current output of 2.2bn pcs/month, suggesting there is room for headcount reduction.

Outlook. We believe Hartalega will continue to operate in a challenging environment, weighed by rising operating costs, persistent industry overcapacity and aggressive price competition from regional players, particularly from China. Pricing pressure is expected to persist, especially in the non-US markets where Chinese manufacturers continue to offer products at steep discount of c.USD14-15/1k pcs. All told, we remain our Neutral call on Hartalega.

KEY FORECAST TABLE
FYE Mar (RM m) 2024A 2025A 2026F 2027F 2028F CAGR
Revenue 1,838.1 2,585.6 2,460.8 2,492.8 2,524.7 8.3%
Gross Profit 155.7 244.3 289.6 299.8 280.3 15.8%
Op. Profit 46.1 50.0 77.2 84.6 191.9 42.8%
PBT 38.5 47.9 76.9 84.3 191.7 49.4%
Net Profit 12.5 74.5 108.5 119.1 297.6 >100%
Core Net Profit 24.3 84.1 108.5 119.1 297.6
EPS (Sen) 0.4 2.2 3.2 3.5 8.7
P/E (x) 360.6 60.4 41.5 37.8 15.1
DPS (Sen) 0.4 11.4 4.0 4.5 5.5
Div Yield 0.3% 8.6% 3.0% 3.4% 4.2%

Source: Company, PublicInvest Research estimates