NutriAsia, Inc. lowers capital stock

MANILA, Philippines - The corporate regulator has approved a plan by holding firm NutriAsia, Inc. to reduce its capital stock by 90% to P100 million in order to pay off an accumulated deficit worth more than P473 million. NutriAsia, holding firm of Campos-led condiment and sauce maker UFC Philippines, Inc. and Southeast Asia Foods, Inc., lowered the par value of its shares by 90% to P10. This brought down the company’s paid-in capital to P63 million, documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission showed. The firm’s stockholders approved the capital stock decrease last May 30. This, in turn, gave the firm a surplus of P567 million, which it used to pay for its deficit. The firm kept the balance as paid-in capital. In a telephone interview over the weekend, NutriAsia Corporate Secretary Mariano L. Celis II the firm has other restructuring plans, which may involve the merger of the firm’s units. He declined to elaborate. He said the firm had accumulated the deficit since its units had failed to pay shareholders their share of company earnings, which the units had used to expand. He said the firm’s subsidiaries remained profitable, but he declined to provide figures. Two other Campos-led firms — Nutricon, Inc. and NA Pacific Resources, Inc. — remained the majority stockholder after the equity restructuring with a combined stake of more than 60%. The firm is part of the Campos-led NutriAsia Group, which includes Singapore-listed firm Del Monte Pacific Ltd. The Campos group used to share ownership of Del Monte with food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. It now fully owns the company after San Miguel sold its 42.22% stake for $150 million last year. - BusinessWorld