Riverstone is adding six production lines as it responds to higher demand for cleanroom gloves from customers linked to the semiconductor, data centre and memory-storage industries.
The Malaysian manufacturer, which specialises in cleanroom gloves, fingercots and packaging bags, reported revenue of $117.9m (RM480.9m) for the six months ended 30 June 2026, down 3.2% year-on-year. Net profit increased 5% to $26.2m (RM106.9m.)
The company said its cleanroom business continued to see strong demand during the period, with growth supported by investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure and the wider electronics sector.
Three of the six new production lines are expected to be completed by the end of 2026, with the remaining three scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2027.
Together, the lines are expected to add around 800 million gloves of annualised production capacity across cleanroom and healthcare products.
Riverstone said demand for cleanroom gloves remained strong, with production utilisation at around 75%.
However, downstream processes including inspection and packing have constrained the company's ability to fulfil some customer orders.
The company has resumed recruitment of foreign workers to address the bottleneck, with around 30-50 workers having arrived and a further 100 expected.
Cleanroom segment drives second-quarter recovery
The cleanroom business was a key contributor to Riverstone's stronger second-quarter performance.
Revenue for the three months ended 30 June rose 24.5% quarter-on-quarter to $65.4m (RM266.7m), while net profit increased 60.2% to $16.1m (RM65.8m).
Cleanroom products accounted for 45% of second-quarter revenue but 70% of gross profit, reflecting the higher-margin nature of the business.
Riverstone said cleanroom glove pricing remained stable during the quarter, while demand continued to be supported by customers in semiconductor and electronics manufacturing.
The company manufactures specialised gloves for controlled environments, where products are used to protect both workers and sensitive manufacturing processes from contamination.
Capacity expansion
The additional production lines form part of Riverstone's wider capacity expansion programme as it seeks to meet demand across both its cleanroom and healthcare glove businesses.
The company said it expects production volumes to increase in the third and fourth quarters as additional manpower becomes available and downstream capacity constraints ease.
Riverstone also highlighted the qualification requirements associated with cleanroom gloves, noting that customer approval processes can be lengthy and product specifications continue to become more demanding.
The company said its cleanroom products are used across semiconductor, electronics, hard-disk drive and other controlled manufacturing applications.
For the first half of 2026, gross profit increased 6.9% despite the decline in revenue, while gross margin improved to 32.9% from 29.7% in the corresponding period.
Riverstone reported $141.2m (RM576m) in cash and cash equivalents at the end of June, compared with $154.5m (RM630.4m) at the end of 2025.
The company declared an interim dividend of five Malaysian sen per share for the first half.
