KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): Shares in Hartalega Holdings Bhd hit a five-year low after the stock emerged as the top loser on Bursa Malaysia at late morning on Thursday (Aug 11).

This came after analysts slashed their target prices for the glove manufacturer after its earnings for the first quarter ended June 30, 2022 (1QFY23) came in below expectations, and flagged that the stock could be at risk of removal from the FBM KLCI in the upcoming semi-annual review should its share price deteriorate further.

At the opening bell on Thursday, the stock opened three sen or 1.22% higher to RM2.48 before it plunged further to hit intraday low of RM2.27.

The stock then pared losses to trade at RM2.30, down 15 sen or 6.12%, at the time of writing, valuing the group at RM7.83 billion.

Since the beginning of the year, the stock has fallen by 59.86%.

Notably, the lowest point reported previously was on May 9, 2017, when the stock closed at RM2.19.

On Aug 9, Hartalega said its first quarter net profit slumped to RM88.28 million from RM2.26 billion a year earlier as the rubber glove manufacturer's revenue dropped significantly at a time when glove average selling price (ASP) and sales volume declined after rising to a record high during the crucial period of the Covid-19 outbreak, which began in early 2020.

Meanwhile, the group said its quarterly revenue dropped to RM845.67 million in 1QFY23 from RM3.9 billion a year earlier.

"No dividend was proposed or declared for the current quarter under review," Hartalega said.

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Analysts slash target prices for Hartalega, warn of risk of exclusion from KLCI