SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Shares of medical products supplier Medtecs International advanced further on Wednesday (Oct 14), following its stellar third-quarter financial results that were boosted by explosive demand for personal protective equipment (PPE).
The Catalist-listed stock climbed as much as 7.4 per cent or $0.11 to hit $1.59 at around 11.45am.
It eased slightly to trade at $1.57 by the midday break, up 6.1 per cent or $0.09 from Tuesday's close, with 32.1 million shares changing hands.
The counter was the most actively traded by value on the Singapore bourse, and clocked the fourth-highest volume.
More than 70 large trades - each with a value of more than $150,000 - were recorded during the morning session, according to Shareinvestor data.
Shares of Medtecs have rallied this year following the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak, as investors piled into the pandemic beneficiary. The stock price has spiked by some 4,140 per cent so far this year, from $0.037 at the end of last year.
Medtecs reported on Tuesday after market close that its revenue had jumped to US$124.6 million for the three months ended September, increasing by 636 per cent from a year ago. Net profit surged by 1,115 times to US$45.7 million for the quarter.
The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a swell in global demand for PPE. The company said it expects this demand to remain strong, given that the prospect of a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine is still uncertain.
This year, amid the Covid-19 outbreak, Medtecs provided one-stop, bundled services to meet customers' demand for head-to-toe protection by supplementing its existing products with those from third-party vendors.
It also used e-commerce platforms and data analysis to source for potential customers and new vendors.
In addition, Medtecs developed its own "CoverU" line of PPE. Sales of products carrying its own label in the first nine months of 2020 made up more than 68 per cent of the group's total sales, Medtecs noted on Tuesday.
"With long-term indicative orders in hand and stabilising raw material prices, the company expects to report record revenue and profit in the fourth quarter and financial year ending Dec 31, 2020," it added.
