19 May, 2005

KOSSAN RUBBER POSTS UNAUDITED AFTER TAX PROFIT
OF RM7.005 MILLION FOR FIRST QUARTER OF 2005
- OVERALL OUTLOOK FOR THE GROUP REMAINS POSITIVE WITH GROWING DEMAND IN GLOVES AND INDUSTRIAL RUBBER PRODUCTS

The Group has recorded significantly higher profit for the first quarter ended 31 March 2005 compared to the same quarter of its preceding financial year ended 31 March 2004 riding on the higher revenue achieved during the first 3 months.

Net Profit surged 34.5% to RM7.0 million from RM5.2 million recorded in the preceding year corresponding quarter, while revenue also increased by 45.0% to RM85.4 million from RM58.9 million recorded in the preceding year corresponding quarter. The higher net profit and revenue achieved were mainly due to increased turnover with the new 9 production lines which are fully operational since early of this year.

The Group’s main activity during the period is in latex glove and technical rubber product manufacturing with total 49 production lines for its Glove division. At present, the installed capacity for the glove division is marked at 3.9 billion pieces per annum and the utilization rate is at all times exceeding 90%.

Riding on the strong demand growth in both latex gloves and technical rubber products, the Board of Directors is confident that the Group would be able to continue to record better results in the next quarter. Mr. Lim Kuang Sia, Managing Director of Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd is committed to grow both the Technical Rubber Product and Glove divisions.