Top Glove Shares Dip After Factories Shut Owing To COVID-19 Infections

Malaysia latex-glove manufacturer Top Glove has been forced to shut factories after reports of a rise in new coronavirus cases.

The company that makes personal protection for health workers saw its share price drop by more than 7.5% Tuesday. Since the start of the month the company's stock price has fallen by more than 19%. Following the spread of the pandemic, Top Glove's share price rose by more than 342% as demand for its products worldwide increased.

Since the pandemic, Top Glove has increased production- which it claims now exceeds 90 billion gloves a year. The company employs more than 21,000 employees at its 750 production lines.

Top Glove said it had been forced to temporarily close down 28 factories. Health authorities said the recent increase in new infections had pushed the country's daily cases to a record.

Top Glove's share price dropped from a Monday close of 7.35 Malaysia ringgit a share to a Tuesday opening of 6.89 ringgit a share on Bursa Malaysia. The stock ended the day at 6.80 ringgit a share.

The company was told by the government to shut factories after it had recorded 1,884 new cases Monday. Around 1,067 cases were traced back to a Teratai cluster in Selangor - where Top Glove's worker dormitories are located.  

Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that the closings were necessary to allow health workers to screen and quarantine Top Glove workers.

As of Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said it had screened around 5,700 workers - or roughly 27% of the company's total employees.

"We are committed to proceed with the COVID-19 screening test for the balance (of) workers and staff of our factories in Meru. The safety and well-being of our employees and local community is our utmost priority toward containing the situation and to flatten the COVID-19 curve," Top Glove said in a statement.