{"id":149556,"date":"2022-01-14T11:37:11","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T11:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=149556"},"modified":"2022-01-14T11:37:11","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T11:37:11","slug":"top-condom-maker-karex-sees-2022-demand-topping-pre-pandemic-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/business\/top-condom-maker-karex-sees-2022-demand-topping-pre-pandemic-levels\/","title":{"rendered":"Top condom maker Karex sees 2022 demand topping pre-pandemic levels"},"content":{"rendered":"
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – The world\u2019s top condom maker, Malaysia\u2019s Karex Bhd, expects demand to top pre-pandemic levels this year on consumer buying of premium products and restocking by federal health agencies.<\/p> Sales to brands such as Durex rose 30% in fiscal 2021 and accounted for 60% of its revenue, up from 49% a year earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen there was a 40% drop in terms of global consumption, Karex\u2019s … consumer segment has continued to grow,\u201d CEO Goh Miah Kiat told Reuters on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year, I expect the demand to recover to pre-pandemic times. Sales value could increase even more as consumers are buying more premium products.\u201d<\/p>\n Sales are increasing particularly at the company\u2019s consumer business, after the pandemic triggered lockdowns, shutting factories and hampering social activities, Goh told Reuters.<\/p>\n He declined to provide outlook numbers.<\/p>\n In the year ended June 2021, the company\u2019s sales grew 6%, versus 4% in the previous year, though it logged its first annual loss since listing in 2013.<\/p>\n For fiscal 2022, analysts expect sales to grow 9%, Refinitiv Eikon data shows.<\/p>\n Goh said demand would be buoyed by restocking by distributors and government departments which have been depleted over the past two years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re starting to see a lot of orders coming in on an emergency basis,\u201d Goh said.<\/p>\n The company is also planning to launch new products this year, including a condom made of synthetic material, and is looking to diversify into medical glove manufacturing, Goh said.<\/p>\n It will start out with a target to produce 500 million gloves at its plant in Thailand by March and aims to increase production to a full capacity of 2.5 billion in three years, Goh said.<\/p>\n ($1 = 4.1770 ringgit)<\/p>\n