TOP GLOVE CORPORATION BHD (TOPGLOV)

Top Glove: World's Largest Glove Maker in a Recovery Phase

Top Glove Corporation Bhd (Bursa: 7113) is not just another rubber glove company - it is the world's largest rubber glove manufacturer, controlling more than 25% of global production capacity. Founded in 1991 by Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai, the company has grown from a small factory in Shah Alam into a global manufacturing empire with 37 factories and 618 active production lines.

Top Glove is dual-listed on two major exchanges - Bursa Malaysia (MYX: 7113) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX: BVA), providing exposure to investors from both markets. Critically for Muslim investors, this stock is ✅ Shariah-Compliant as confirmed by the Securities Commission Malaysia Shariah Advisory Council.

The COVID Story: From Billions to Losses, Now Recovering 📈

Top Glove's journey can be divided into three distinct eras:

• Pre-COVID (pre-2020): Stable profitability with net margins of 8-12%, consistent organic growth
• COVID Era (FY2020-FY2022): Extraordinary global demand surge. Nitrile glove prices jumped 5-10x. Top Glove recorded net profits exceeding RM3-4 billion per year - all-time records
• Post-COVID Crash (FY2023-FY2024): Severe global oversupply. Chinese manufacturers selling below cost. Top Glove recorded multi-billion ringgit losses over 6 consecutive quarters
• Recovery (FY2025-FY2026): Revenue hit RM1 billion per quarter in Q2FY26 for the first time since COVID - a significant symbolic milestone

Products and Business Segments

Top Glove offers a wide range of gloves for various applications:

• Nitrile Gloves (~50%+ of revenue): Core product, latex-free, suitable for latex-allergic patients. Highest demand from global hospitals and clinics
• Latex Examination Gloves: Natural rubber-based, more flexible, popular for general medical procedures
• Surgical Gloves (Aspion brand): Premium segment through the Aspion subsidiary acquired in 2018 for RM1.37 billion. Makes Top Glove the world's largest surgical glove manufacturer
• Vinyl and Cleanroom Gloves: Specialty segments for food and electronics industries

Geographic Diversification

Top Glove exports to over 195 countries with a well-balanced sales mix:

• North America: ~35% (US, Canada - largest and most profitable market)
• Europe: ~30% (UK, Germany, France and others)
• Asia Pacific and others: ~35% (including domestic Malaysia)

This geographic diversification provides important risk protection, although it also exposes the company to foreign exchange fluctuations, particularly the USD/MYR pair.

Production Capacity

With annual capacity exceeding 57 billion gloves, Top Glove remains the dominant player in the industry. This scale provides cost advantages that are difficult for smaller competitors to match, even as Chinese manufacturers continue to pressure prices aggressively.

Top Glove closed FY2026 (year ended 31 Aug 2026) with revenue of about RM4.23 billion (+21%, volume up close to 30%) and net profit of about RM308 million, nearly triple the RM105 million of FY2025. EBITDA was about RM649 million (+45%). The group swung from net debt of RM267 million to net cash of RM141 million.

Quarterly figures for 1Q to 3Q from the company filings in our database; 4Q from press reports of the 6 Oct 2026 announcement (revenue derived as FY less 9M). Sources differ by a few million ringgit depending on whether profit after tax or profit attributable to shareholders is quoted.

Top Glove declared a final dividend of 1.5 sen per share for FY2026, payable on 15 Dec 2026. That totals about RM120 million, roughly three times the FY2025 payout (about 0.5 sen). At a share price near RM0.86 the yield is only about 1.7%.

The dividend is a welcome step after years of near-zero payouts, but it is small relative to the RM308m profit (payout ratio about 39%), and income investors will still find better yields elsewhere on Bursa.