Karex is the largest condom producer by volume in the world, and it also produces personal lubricants and medical products namely probe covers and Foley balloon catheters.
PETALING JAYA: The recent surge in condom maker Karex Bhd’s share price has put the company under the spotlight.
Since closing at 57.5 sen on July 30, Karex’s share price has surged 102% over the last three days to close at RM1.16 on Wednesday.
Its share price also hit an intraday high of RM1.23, and some 106.6 million shares were traded.
Karex is the largest condom producer by volume in the world, and it also produces personal lubricants and medical products namely probe covers and Foley balloon catheters.
A bank-backed research analyst contacted by StarBiz said the sudden share price surge is likely related to the current mania for stocks of glove and healthcare products’ makers. “There is probably market speculation that Karex might go into glove manufacturing, ” said the analyst.
Karex CEO Goh Miah Kiat could not be reached for comments.
For its third quarter ended 30 March, 2020, Karex posted a RM1.13 million loss, compared with a RM165,000 net profit a year ago.
Revenue was 16.5% year-on-year higher at RM99.15 million.
For its nine months ended 30 March, Karex posted a RM1.2 million loss, compared with a RM3.54 million net profit a year ago, while revenue climbed 4.5% to RM304 million.
In a filing with Bursa, the company said profitability during the third quarter was pressured due to the movement control order (MCO), which restricted its facilities from operating at full capacity.
Karex noted that for the nine months under review, revenue remained resilient although profits came under pressure due to a less favourable sales mix as well as social compliance payments and idle operational cost incurred during the MCO.
https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2020/08/06/karex-share-price-rallies-on-glove-mania
