The world’s biggest condom maker says business has been financially slumped amid the coronavirus pandemic, with sales down as much as 40% in the past two years.
“A large part [dos preservativos] is distributed by governments around the world, which have reduced [a distribuição] significantly during Covid-19,” said Goh Miah Kiat, CEO of condom giant Karex, to Nikkei.
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The Malaysian prophylactic supplier reportedly produces more than 5.5 billion condoms annually and operates in 140 countries worldwide. It also supplies other condom companies such as Durex, which suffered a similar drop in sales during the coronavirus pandemic.
While many assumed that people would have nothing to do “other than have sex” during the lockdown, this was clearly not the case, according to Kiat.
The condom boss attributed the delay in sales to the pandemic closures of hotels and motels, which traditionally provide an oasis of intimacy in developing countries, where homes tend to be more crowded.
“[Estadias em hotéis foram] interrupted by the pandemic,” he said, adding that the downfall of the sex industry – a major market for condoms – over the past two years is also to blame.
Other factors included factory closures due to the pandemic and the fact that governments – a major distributor of contraceptives – have reduced condom distribution amid lockdowns, the Nikkei reported.
Due to the factors mentioned above, Karex posted an annual loss in 2020 – the condom company’s first since going public in 2013. Meanwhile, the company’s share price in Bursa Malaysia has plummeted nearly 50% in the past year.
Fortunately, condom sales from Karex and other companies have been recovering lately as governments ease lockdown restrictions across the world. The company aims to increase its profits by making medical gloves – a more pandemic-relevant product that is created using rubber-like materials and processes.
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