KUALA LUMPUR: Hartalega Holdings Bhd's shares fell sharply today after the glovemaker saw a 60.5 per cent drop in net profit for the first quarter of its financial year 2026.

At the time of writing, the counter was down 5.3 per cent or seven sen to RM1.25, from its previous close of RM1.32. The counter opened slightly higher at RM1.28.

Some 16.5 million shares changed hands, valuing the company at RM4.68 billion.

The weaker performance also weighed on other major glovemakers, with Top Glove Corporation Bhd, Supermax Corporation Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd emerging among the most active stocks.

Top Glove slipped 3.15 per cent or two sen to 61.5 sen, with 27.2 million shares traded, while Supermax fell 3.74 per cent or two sen to 51.5 sen, on a volume of 7.96 million shares.

Kossan declined 2.36 per cent or three sen to RM1.24, with 3.94 million shares changing hands.

Hartalega said the performance for the quarter was affected by a reduction in average selling prices (ASPs), as well as lower sales volume primarily owing to front-loaded inventories held by US customers and deferred orders in response to ongoing tariff developments.

It said pricing pressures intensified in non-US markets, driven by excess supply from Chinese manufacturers.

AmInvestment Bank Bhd has downgraded its recommendation on Hartalega to a 'Sell' and slashed its target price to RM1.00 from RM2.30, following its earnings miss.

The research house noted that while sales volume is anticipated to improve, it expects the recovery to come as inventory levels normalise following frontloading activities at the end of calendar year 2024.

"However, ASP is likely to remain flat due to the ongoing structural oversupply, which continues to erode pricing power for glove manufacturers.

"We only expect market equilibrium by 2027, based on our estimates," it said.