The recent sell-off in Oriental Kopi shares following boycott calls over its menus is unwarranted, as sales have not been affected so far, Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) said.
In a note, HLIB said its call with management showed no significant change in footfall at the chain’s outlets.
The controversy erupted in early October after a social media user complained that the menus, printed in English and Chinese, had no Malay translation. Founder Calvin Chan apologised and promised improvements, and the company has since designed a new trilingual menu, with reprinting of about 2,000 menu books estimated to cost RM150,000.
The shares fell as much as 10 per cent after the episode and closed at 82 sen on Tuesday, valuing the group at RM1.64 billion. They are down 42 per cent this year amid earnings misses, margin pressure and high expansion costs.
HLIB described management’s response as proactive and constructive, kept its buy call and target price of RM1.17, and left its forecast of RM67 million core net profit for FY2026 unchanged.
Founded in Johor in 2020, Oriental Kopi runs more than 30 outlets in Malaysia and Singapore and listed on the ACE Market in January 2025.