KUALA LUMPUR: Glove maker Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd sees 2019 as growth year for the company after first quarter earnings jumped by almost a third, driven by a surge in sales. Net profit in the three months ended March 31 rose 32% to RM58.7mil compared with RM44.5mil made a year ago. "The better performance was attributable to improvements in all three divisions - gloves, technical rubber products and cleanroom," Kossan said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today. The group's gloves division reported an 18.5% jump in revenue to RM497mil, on the back of an 18.8% increase in volume sold. The world's third-largest glove maker projected growth for gloves to remain resilient, with global demand projected to reach 300 billion in 2019, up from 269 billion pieces in 2018.

Source: The Star May 24, 2019 11:23 UTC