KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Furniture maker Homeritz Corp Bhd is temporarily stopping the operations of its manufacturing plant in Kawasan Perindustrian Bukit Bakri, Muar, Johor for seven days, beginning April 13, after several of its workers there tested positive for Covid-19.

The suspension of operations will cause a delay in the shipment of several sales orders, the group said in a stock exchange filing today.

"The management is currently in discussions with the respective customers for the extension of time to deliver the goods and expects that there will not be any adverse impact to the group in view of the long-term relationship with the respective customers,” it said.

Meanwhile, the group said it is working closely with the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MoH) to implement mitigating steps to contain the spread of the coronavirus which affected its Factory D, and to safeguard the health of its employees who may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
 
"The safety and well-being of the company’s employees and the local community are of paramount priority towards containing the situation. While only a number of workers from Factory D have tested positive for Covid-19, the company has temporary closure of all the factories in the same location in order to do deep-sanitisation and disinfection.

“The company currently also underwent a Covid-19 full screening for all its remaining employees work at other unaffected factories and office located Bukit Bakri, Muar, Johor as precautionary measure to contain and prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus amongst its employees and its surrounding community,” it said.

Barring any prolonged interruptions or closure of the affected premises, the board does not expect any material adverse impact on the revenue or the earnings of the group for the financial year ending 2021, the group added.

Shares of Homeritz closed unchanged today at 60 sen, valuing the company at RM249.80 million.