Established in 1991 and listed on Bursa Malaysia and the Singapore Exchange, Top Glove is the world’s largest glove manufacturer. The company had a good run during COVID-19 as its clients snatched up gloves amid a global glove shortage. As the pandemic subsided, the entire glove industry including Top Glove was left with excess production capacity while glove sales orders dwindled. Here are seven things I learned from the 2024 Top Glove AGM.

1. Revenue dropped 59.5% year-on-year to RM2.3 billion in 2023 because of lower glove demand.Top Glove fell into a net loss position of RM925.2 million for the first time since listing. The company incurred a one-off impairment of goodwill and write-off of assets amounting to RM389 million in 2023. As a result, it did not distribute any dividend during the latest financial year.

The past one year was tough for the whole glove industry. During the pandemic, existing glove players expanded aggressively in response to heightened glove demand while...