Lucky Core Industries has announced the termination of a year-old agreement for acquiring Lotte Chemical, as it finds it difficult to meet the conditions set for the given time frame.
In a notification to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), Lucky Core Industries said Lucky Core Ventures (LCV), which is a wholly owned subsidiary, had terminated a share purchase agreement dated January 26, 2023 signed with Lotte Chemical Corporation for the acquisition of 1.14 billion ordinary shares in Lotte Chemical Pakistan, which constituted approximately 75.01% of the issued capital.
“The conditions required for completion could not be met within the time stipulated in the share purchase agreement and accordingly LCV has decided not to proceed with the transaction,” the notification read.
The announcement led to a sharp decline in Lotte Chemical’s share price to the day’s maximum limit of 7.5% (or Rs2.03) to Rs25.06 with volumes of 2.02 million shares at the PSX on Friday.
Read Lucky Core acquires Lotte Chemical Pakistan
Lucky Core’s share price closed stable at Rs764.31 (up Rs0.03) on a day-on-day basis. The closing price was, however, notably lower when compared with the intra-day high of Rs784.99 on Friday.
Lotte Chemical was incorporated in Pakistan in May 1998 under the Companies Ordinance, 1984 (repealed with the enactment of the Companies Act, 2017). The principal activity of the company is the manufacturing and sale of pure terephthalic acid (PTA).
The company said in its financial accounts for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 that revenue for the quarter was 20% lower than the corresponding period of last year mainly due to a decrease in volumes sold.
This resulted in a lower gross profit of Rs3,417 million for the quarter as compared to gross earnings of Rs4,805 million during the same period of last year.
Earnings per share (EPS) for the Jul-Sept 2023 quarter stood at Rs1.31 as compared to Rs1.79 for Q3 of 2022.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2024.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
Read the full story at the express tribune website.
