Poh Huat unit suspends ops in Malaysia due to Covid-19

KUALA LUMPUR: Furniture producer Poh Huat Resources Holdings Bhd today announced its main operating subsidiary in Malaysia, Poh Huat Furniture Industries Sdn Bhd (PHFI), will temporarily suspend its operations due to Covid-19 positive cases.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, it said a total of 543 employees had tested positive for Covid-19 after a screening exercise was conducted on about 1,400 employees at all its plant premises and corporate offices located in Bukit Pasir industrial area in Muar, Johor on Jan 21.

It said the group has taken the additional step of temporarily suspending all its Malaysian operations from Jan 25 until Feb 3, 2021 or further advised by the Ministry of Health.

However, the group’s Vietnam operations are Covid-19 free and remain in full operation.

“The temporary closure of PHFI operations is expected to result in a delay for the shipment of several orders to its customers in the United States. “The management is currently in discussion with the affected customers for the rescheduling of delivery dates for these orders and expects there will not be any adverse impact on the group,” it said.

PHFI is expected to be able to mitigate the delay in shipment as it has a certain amount of ready inventory to meet some of these orders and, if necessary, increase production with extended shifts upon re-commencement of manufacturing activities.