Sunningdale Tech halts Malaysia production due to lockdown

MAINBOARD-LISTED precision manufacturer Sunningdale Tech has stopped production at its manufacturing facilities in Malaysia due to the country's movement control order, the company said on Friday.

The production halt has subsequently affected its Singapore operations which rely on their Malaysian manufacturing plants for production capacity.

The company added that shipments of goods from its Malaysian plants to Singapore will not be possible during Malaysia's lockdown.

It has arranged accommodation in Singapore for some of its Malaysia-based employees who normally commute to the Republic daily for work, but are unable to do so due to the lockdown.

To mitigate the impact from Covid-19, the company said it is focusing on tightening cost controls, improving productivity and enhancing operational efficiency.

Collectively, Sunningdale Tech's Malaysia and Singapore operations recorded S$158.7 million in revenue for its fiscal 2019 ended Dec 31, 2019, versus a total annual revenue of S$673.8 million.

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The company is now working with Malaysian authorities and its customers to get clearance for the production of products related to essential goods and services, such as medical and surgical devices, it said.

Separately, Sunningdale Tech's manufacturing facilities in China have gradually resumed operations after the expiry of mandatory government closures.

Its China operations are running at between 75 per cent and 90 per cent of their workforce and are expected to fully recover by the end of March, barring any further government restrictions, the company said.

Sunningdale Tech is an integrated precision plastic component supplier which provides mould manufacturing, injection moulding, spray painting and assembly services.

Micro-Mechanics, which designs and manufactures precision tools for the semiconductor industry, said on Thursday its Penang operations are continuing at a minimal level as semiconductors are part of the supply chain of essential goods and exempted from the movement control order.

Many other Singapore-listed companies have shuttered their Malaysia operations for the rest of the month to comply with the movement control order. They include Catalist-listed Allied Technologies as well as at least 10 firms, mostly miners, developers and manufacturers.

Sunningdale Tech shares closed down S$0.01 or 1.2 per cent to S$0.82 on Thursday.