KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 21): OldTown Bhd said it has been forced to temporarily shut its central food processing centre at Subang Jaya, Selangor, after an explosion occurred.

The incident took place at around 8am today and affected the production floor of the centre, which belongs to OldTown's wholly-owned unit, Emperor's Kitchen Sdn Bhd (EK).

In its Bursa Malaysia filing today, OldTown said the adjacent areas occupied by other operating units and the administration office were not affected.

"As a result of the explosion, several employees were injured and the management is closely monitoring their condition in the hospital. The company and the management are committed to provide full support and assistance to the injured employees," it said.

It said the fire and police departments, as well as the company's management itself, are now investigating the incident to determine the cause of the explosion.

"The food processing operation in the EK processing plant has temporarily ceased and is expected to re-commence via auxiliary means in the shortest time possible in order to mitigate any supply disruption to F&B chain outlets. There is no impact to the coffee and beverage manufacturing and warehousing facilities.

"At this juncture, the Board is unable to finalise the financial impact to EK, but believes that the damages are adequately insured pending the insurance company's assessment," the filing further read.

OldTown shares slid nine sen or 3.35% to close at RM2.60 today, with a market capitalisation of RM1.23 billion.