By PRIYA VASU / Pic source: unisemgroup.com

Unisem (M) Bhd has obtained the approval from the Ministry of Health of Malaysia (KKM) on 13 September 2021 for its plants in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia to resume operation on 14 September 2021.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today the semiconductor company said that it anticipates sales and production at its Ipoh plants to be adversely impacted in the coming months due to headcount limitation until the pandemic subsides significantly.

The plant was ordered a seven-day shutdown from Sept 8 to 15, 2021 in order to contain a spike in Covid-19 cases. 

The recent closure was the second plant shutdown for Unisem Ipoh within two months following the first plant closure, which lasted for 11 days from 26 Jul to 5 Aug 2021 due to the implementation of enhanced movement control order (EMCO) at Bandar Pulai Jaya in Ipoh.

The group estimates the potential loss of production arising from the latest closure to be approximately 2% of its total annual production volume. 

It expects production at the Ipoh plant will continue to be impacted in the coming months due to headcount limits until such time the pandemic subsides.

CGS-CIMB’s Equity Research in a report last week noted that Unisem’s second plant closure, coupled with headcount limits could mean lower or even flattish quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) sales delivery in 3Q21F.