SHANGHAI Stock Exchange-listed China Hainan Rubber Industry Group is acquiring 574.2 million shares in Halcyon Agri Corporation : 5VJ 0% at US$0.315 apiece, for a total cash consideration of US$180.9 million.

 

The Shanghai stock exchange-listed company made the announcement on Wednesday (Nov 16).

 

This represents a 36 per cent stake in Halcyon Agri, triggering a mandatory conditional cash offer for all the shares in the Singapore-listed company as the acquisition will result in Hainan Rubber owning more than 30 per cent of Halcyon Agri.

 

The offer price of US$0.315 is 50.3 per cent above the last transacted price of S$0.29 for Halcyon Agri on Nov 11 &ndash the last full trading day before the announcement.

 

It is also 73.3 per cent higher than the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of Halcyon Agri for the 1-month period up to Nov 11, and at a 78 per cent premium to the three-month VWAP.

 

Hainan Rubber will make a formal offer after its purchase of the 36 per cent stake in Halcyon Agri from Sinochem International is completed and certain pre-conditions are met.

 

Halcyon Agri has requested to lift its trading halt on Nov 16, after the announcement was made.

 

GLOVE maker Sri Trang Gloves Thailand : NC2 0% recorded a net profit of 1.67 billion baht (S$64.8 million) for the first fiscal half ending Jun 30, down 90.4 per cent from the 17.33 billion baht the company posted in the same period a year ago.

 

Earnings per share fell to 0.58 baht for H1 2022, down from 6.07 baht previously.

 

Revenue fell 51.9 per cent to 13.66 billion baht in H1 2022 from 28.4 billion baht previously. For quarter on quarter, revenue tumbled 49.6 per cent to 6.54 billion baht, from 12.97 billion baht recorded previously.

 

In a bourse filing on Wednesday (Aug 10), the company attributed the decline in revenue and profit margins to lower average selling prices (ASPs) resulting from increasing supply in the market.

 

&ldquo Sales volume was 7,627 million pieces, growing 32.6 per cent year on year but decreasing 3.5 per cent quarter on quarter as Covid-19 has been brought under control and demand started to normalise,&rdquo the mainboard-listed company said.

 

Sri Trang gloves added that it is committed to achieving 57 billion pieces in annual installed production capacity by 2024, an adjustment to reflect the current industry climate.

 

&ldquo For FY2022, our annual installed production capacity is expected to reach 48 billion pieces, representing a 19.1 per cent growth from FY2021. Cost-saving initiatives such as the use of automation and technology to achieve economies of scale and improve efficiency to create higher profit and return to shareholders will continue to be in our focus.&rdquo

 

Earnings per share rose to 0.021 baht from 0.0136 baht a yaer ago. Revenue rose by 72.7 per cent year-on-year to 28.49 billion baht over the same period. 

 

In 3Q21, we had THB 28,486.1 million in total revenue, growing 72.7% YoY but decreasing 4.4% QoQ. Revenue from NR business, which accounted for 62.0% of total revenue, was THB 17,665.6 million, growing 110.3% YoY on the back of higher ASP and sales volume as well as increased market

share. 

 

Revenue from NR products also increased 5.3% QoQ as our ASP was higher than NR prices on the global markets. Because of our timely delivery and credibility, we were the first choice among both domestic and overseas customers and our sales volume in 3Q21 was 311,308 tons. For 9M21, our production output accounted for 33% of Thailand&rsquo s total production, up from 27% in 9M20. Because of a pickup in NR demand and improved competitiveness, gross profit margin for NR products reached a record of 13.6%.

 

Thanks to the robust consumption, revenue from gloves business accounted for 37.9% of total revenue and totaled THB 10,801.3, growing 33.6% YoY on the back of the ASP that increased 34.1% YoY. However,

the revenue decreased 16.8% QoQ because of the lower ASP QoQ. Sales volume improved to 7,051 million pieces as production fully resumed at our Surat Thani and Trang plants following a temporary suspension because of COVID infections in 2Q21. As a result, gross profit margin for gloves was 53.2%, which still ranked among the highest in the industry.

 

We recorded a net profit of THB 3,230.8 million or THB 2.10 per share in 3Q21, with a gross profit margin of 28.6% and a net profit margin of 11.3%. Our Board of Directors has approved an interim dividend of THB 1.25 per share and the ex-dividend date will be 18-22 November 2021.