TOP Glove, the world’s largest maker of rubber gloves, announced last week that it had suffered deep losses for the three months ended November. Its latest report card underscores the shifting fortunes of the Malaysia and Singapore-listed company in a sector previously deemed resilient.

The business of manufacturing gloves, an essential healthcare item, has been through some “peaks and valleys”, in the company’s own words. But the cost of doing business has been weighed down lately by a hangover from the pandemic sales rush, rosy margins and bloated inventories.