Alaska acquires license to make Nestle brands in RP

Local dairy producer Alaska Milk Corp. disclosed on Monday that it has signed an agreement with Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. for the acquisition of the trademarks "Alpine," "Liberty," and "Krem-top," in the Philippines and the license to import, manufacture and sell "Carnation" and "Milkmaid." In a statement posted at the website of the Philippine Stock Exchange, Alaska said the agreement was signed on Monday.No other details were disclosed. The agreement comes on the heels of Alaska's disclosure last month that it has chosen to drop its contract with American chocolate-maker Hershey Foods Corp. to produce and distribute Hershey's milk drink. Wilfred Steven Uytengsu Jr., Alaska president and chief operating officer, earlier told reporters that the company will be spending some $5 million for 2006 including the costs of building a storage facility. The company, which is majority owned by the Uytengsu family, reported that its net income surged 34 percent to P404 million in 2006 against P301 million in 2005, on strong sales of canned milk products.-GMANews.TV