Latex glove makers to bounce back

Malaysia’s largest latex glove makers, many of them world leaders, had a tough 2011 on many fronts, as most experienced lower on-year profits and margins. However, analysts say their fortunes are improving going into 2012 as the emerging threat of bird flu in China and Hong Kong may attract investor interest to these counters.

Last Saturday’s death of a man in China from bird flu or influenza H5N1 — the reported human case in the country in 18 months — has put health authorities in the region on alert although the virus does not spread from person to person. In December, Hong Kong raised the city’s bird flu alert level to “serious” and culled thousands of chickens after three birds tested positive for the H5N1 virus strain.

Back in 2009, the H1N1 pandemic led to surge in demand for gloves which led to overstocking by healthcare providers and major distributors, subsequently contributing to a challenging operating environment for glove makers in 2011.

While it is unclear how serious a threat H5N1 is at this juncture, other factors are looking up for latex glove makers.

For one, the US dollar — the currency glove-makers are paid in — have appreciated versus the ringgit from their lows of around the 2.90-levels in 2011 to about 3.18 now. TA Securities, for instance, calculated that a 1% appreciation in the greenback could work out to some 2% to 3% higher earnings for Top Glove Corp Bhd and Supermax Group Bhd.

Hon Seow Mee, an analyst with HwangDBS Vickers Research, who earlier in predicting the rout for glove makers in 2011, sees the stronger greenback boosting revenues. “Our sensitivity analysis shows that every 1% increase in US dollar versus the ringgit could lift earnings by around 5%,” Hon wrote in a note dated Dec 20.

Nonetheless, given the volatility in currency trends, she pointed out that glove makers are likely to hedge US dollar exposure,  something that could result in wide fluctuations in translation gains or losses. Whatever the case, the lower cost of latex is definitely a plus point for glove makers like Top Glove and Supermax which sell more gloves made of natural rubber than synthetic (nitrile) rubber, analysts said. Latex — which suddenly spiked from an average of RM3.30 per kg end-2009 to never-before-seen levels of RM10.60 per kg in February 2011 — accounts for 60% to 70% of production cost.

Prices had since declined by 37% to average around RM6.70 per kg in December 2011. The expected slower demand from Chinese automakers in 2012 means latex prices may continue to ease or stabilise at current levels, analysts said.

“China’s auto market has slowed down and tyres use up 70% of global natural rubber. A lower demand from the tyre industry will lead to excess capacity in the industry,” Jason Yap, an OSK Research analyst who tracks the rubber glove sector, told The Edge Financial Daily recently.




He expects latex prices to be less volatile in 2012. “As the European market is still uncertain, there will be less speculative elements on the commodity side,” Yap said, forecasting prices to stay around RM6 to RM7 per kg this year and over the longer term.

One factor to watch is how latex prices perform ahead of the low production “wintering” season between February and April, analysts said.

According to TA Research, a 1% drop in latex prices could lead to a 4% to 5% increase in net profit for Supermax and Top Glove. To be sure, actual numbers may differ given the impact of other factors like demand as well as product mix.

Nitrile currently accounts for 33% and 17% of Supermax and Top Glove’s production mix respectively, according to a recent report by TA Securities. New glove production lines are able to switch between producing nitrile and latex gloves, officials at  JComments both companies have said.
Conversely, synthetic rubber gloves make up 80% of production of Hartalega Holdings Bhd, the world’s largest nitrile glove maker, which did much better than its peers in 2011. While the price of nitrile, a byproduct of crude oil, too has declined from  its peak in mid-2011, the decline is smaller than that of latex, analysts said. Crude oil is still near US$100 (RM317) levels.

Latex prices, on the other hand, may slide further than the price of hard rubber, which is supported by the Thai-government.Thailand’s floor price of US$3 per kg for hard rubber implies a floor price of roughly RM5.70 for latex, which is 40% water, OSK’s Yap estimated.

He also sees latex glove players benefiting from the production of thinner gloves, which cost less to produce and had gained acceptance as customers searched for cheaper alternatives when latex prices spiked in 2011.

Given these factors, analysts think latex glove players have a greater chance of better growth in 2012 versus nitrile glovemakers.

TA Securities, for instance, recently wrote that “2012 could see a glut of nitrile gloves” given that manufacturers here and in China had ramped up production when demand was strong.

While a rise in nitrile prices is less of a worry, there is concern over potential competition from rivals in China, something that would put pressure on pricing and margins. According to Yap, the Chinese government is also offering rebates to its nation’s glove-makers, which allows them to undercut competitors.

Even so, analysts do not see the current leading nitrile glove player, Hartalega, faring badly in 2012.
“I don’t believe Hartalega will be significantly affected. Competition will be there but because of its high technology, it actually produces gloves targeting the high-end market, which I think Chinese [competitors] may take some time to penetrate,” said Yap.

Hartalega has 11 “buys”, one “hold” and zero “sell”, according to Bloomberg. With an RM8.44 price target, CIMB Research is  the most bullish, while RHB Research is the least with a RM6.06 valuation. Hartalega closed at RM5.84 on Dec 30.

Kossan, on the other hand, has 11 “buys” and five “holds” with target prices ranging between Nomura Research’s RM2.51and OSK’s RM5. It closed at RM3.25 on Dec 30, up 2.85% for the year.
Is consensus behind the curve on Top Glove, or have prices run ahead of fundamentals?

While Top Glove has only five analysts calling it a “buy” versus seven “hold” and 10 “sells”, its stock price had continued to appreciate to reach RM5 on Dec 30. That’s ahead of 13 of the 17 price targets available on Bloomberg.

For Supermax, OSK is the most bullish of six analysts with a “buy”, valuing it at RM5.50. Kenanga Research has the lowest price target of RM2.94, with a “hold” recommendation.