KARACHI: ICI Pakistan Ltd, which will soon be formally renamed Lucky Core Industries Ltd, said on Wednesday its board has approved the sale of 26.5 per cent shares in its subsidiary NutriCo Morinaga to a Japanese investor at an aggregate price of $45 million or $2.07 per share.

Japan’s Morinaga Milk Industry Company Ltd will thus acquire a total shareholding of 33.3pc in the local company — which is engaged in the manufacturing and trading of infant and grown-up formula — from its existing shareholders, including ICI Pakistan Ltd that controls a 51pc stake.

ICI Pakistan will continue to hold about 24.5pc of the company’s shares after the transaction is over.

NutriCo Morinaga was established as a joint venture between ICI Pakistan, Morinaga Milk and Unibrands Ltd to locally manufacture and distribute nutritional formula products.

Philip Morris earnings decline

Philip Morris Pakistan Ltd reported a profit of Rs383.4 million for April-June, down 61.7 per cent from a year ago. A regulatory filing showed the cigarette maker’s earnings for the first six months of 2022 remained Rs1.5 billion, down 11pc on a year-on-year basis.

A company statement attributed the decline to higher taxation in the shape of a super tax imposed at 10pc in the latest Finance Act.

The company’s net turnover in the six-month period was Rs10.16bn, up 10.2pc from a year ago. This included a domestic net turnover of Rs9.17bn, which went up 1.5pc on an annual basis. The export-related turnover increased more than 100pc to Rs991m, reflecting the delayed exports at the end of 2021 on account of external supply chain constraints.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2022