Nitrile gloves have seen a recent price surge, but many Chinese glove manufacturers have experienced a general decline in performance in the first quarter of this year.
According to a report by “First Financial” on May 13th, nitrile gloves, as a category of disposable gloves that have seen rapid global sales growth in recent years, have witnessed a price increase this year. This round of price hikes is related to the rise in prices of upstream raw material nitrile latex. While Chinese manufacturers have a relative advantage in raw material supply, based on their performance in the first quarter of this year, many enterprises have not significantly benefited from the surge in glove prices, with a common trend of increased revenue but not increased profits.
The report mentions that companies like Yingke Medical, Lanfan Medical, and Zhonghong Medical have all faced pressure on their performance in the first quarter of this year. Although some companies have seen revenue growth, net profits have notably declined. There are also companies where both revenue and net profits have decreased, reflecting an overall weak performance.
Financial records disclosed by several manufacturers recently show that factors like exchange losses, fair value changes, as well as impairment of goodwill and inventory have all weighed on first-quarter profits.
“First Financial” also pointed out that Chinese glove manufacturers have a high export ratio, with developed countries and regions such as the US, Europe, and Japan remaining major consumer markets for nitrile gloves. Against this backdrop, exchange rate fluctuations have had a significant impact on enterprise performance. The report cites information disclosed by companies, stating that some manufacturers faced significant exchange loss pressure in the first quarter.
The report further states that global nitrile glove production capacity is mainly concentrated in countries such as Malaysia and China in Asia. Many enterprises anticipate that orders and product prices will continue to rise in the second quarter, but based on the first-quarter performance already disclosed, it appears that the profits of most manufacturers have not significantly improved yet.