Cairo – Mubasher: The board of Arab Dairy Products Co. (Panda) has agreed to raise the company’s issued and paid-up capital to EGP 160 million from EGP 60 million.

The increase amounts to EGP 100 million distributed over 100 million shares at a par value of EGP 1, accounting for 167% of the current capital, the cheese-maker said in a filing to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX o Wednesday.

The rise in capital will be paid in cash or through credit balance due to shareholders, the company added.

Arab Dairy also reported a 51% year-on-year fall in consolidated profits for the first quarter of 2018, recording EGP 853,020 from EGP 1.7 million.

Sales rose to EGP 293.25 million in the three-month period ended last March, versus EGP 256.6 million in Q1-17, the Egyptian dairy firm said in a filing to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX).

Meanwhile, standalone profits narrowed to EGP 716,600 in Q1-18, from EGP 1.65 million in the year-ago period.