UG Healthcare narrows loss by 70.8% y-o-y to $6.1 mil in FY2024

No dividend has been declared for the financial year. The company last paid a dividend in December 2022. Photo: Bloomberg

UG Healthcare has reported a net loss of $6.1 million in FY2024 ended June 30, improving 70.8% y-o-y from a net loss of $20.7 million in the previous financial year. 

Similarly, the group narrowed its net loss in 2HFY2024 by 93.3% y-o-y to $1.08 million from $16 million in 2HFY2023. 

In an Aug 29 announcement, the group says this came on the back of markets continuing to determine a new equilibrium and average selling price (ASP) of disposable examination gloves and the continued increase of ancillary products. 

 

The group reported a loss per share of 0.97 cents in FY2024, improving from a loss per share of 3.32 cents in FY2023.

Meanwhile, the group&rsquo s revenue rose 13.9% y-o-y to $115.2 million in FY2024, due to higher revenue for nitrile disposable examination gloves and ancillary products, which includes reusable gloves and face masks. 

Gross profit surged to $25.87 million in FY2024 from just $1.45 million in the same period last year. 

Total operating expenses, comprising marketing and distribution expenses and administrative expenses, increased 22.3% y-o-y from $26.6 million in FY2023 to $32.5 million in FY2024. The increase was mainly due to higher marketing expenses to promote new ancillary products and higher administrative expenses to support the downstream distribution business expansion.

Correspondingly, gross profit margin expanded to 22.5% in FY2024 from 1.4% in FY2023. 

This was driven by the group&rsquo s resource management at both its upstream manufacturing division and downstream distribution division, together with lower average purchase prices of raw materials and improved average selling price of disposable examination gloves and ancillary products. 

Additionally, the group has since made entry into the non-glove healthcare business, where the joint development, management and operation of the active retirement homes in Desaru has begun site clearance activities. 

No dividend has been declared for the financial year. The company last paid a dividend in December 2022. 

Lee Jun Yih, executive director and finance director at UG Healthcare, says: &ldquo We believe the disposable examination gloves supply chain is reaching normalisation, and our Group is well-positioned to capitalise on this global recovery trend while also increasing traction for stable and sustainable long-term growth through our strategic developments over the last year.&rdquo  

He adds: &ldquo While we maintain the option of outsourcing some of the production of disposable examination gloves under our proprietary UNIGLOVES brand, we are planning to commence production at our third manufacturing facility in the near future.&rdquo  

Shares in UG Healthcare closed at 0.1 cent higher, or up 0.81%, at 12.4 cents on Aug 29.