This represents a 15.2% increase from the RM13.57 million investment last year.

President and CEO Liaw Choon Liang said the company would open up to 15 new outlets in the optical segment to bring the total up to 197.

Among them are two new outlets under the Optometris Anggun brand, which are among the three that will be opened by the end of this year.

In the F&B segment, it expects to add three or four more new stores to its existing 10 outlets.

At a press conference following the company’s annual general meeting today, Liaw expressed optimism about the current state of the Malaysian economy.

“As you can see, the shopping malls are packed with people. I would say it is even better than pre-Covid-19 performance,” he said.

He attributed this to “revenge buying” behaviour.

Liaw said the optical segment will continue to drive the company’s business in FY2022. It accounted for 82% of its net profit of RM14.048 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2021.

The F&B segment accounted for 15% of its profits while the Lasik surgery business contributed to 3% of its profits.

Liaw said the current lockdown in China had only a “slight impact” on its performance, given that it also sources its materials from Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

He said the recent increase in the minimum wage to RM1,500 also had a minimum impact on the company given that many of its employees were already earning that amount.

However, he conceded that inflationary pressures had forced the company to raise prices of its F&B products.

“We are still monitoring the situation because there are also some shortages in ingredients, such as flour,” said Liaw who also expressed hope that there will not be an additional price adjustment.