Cairo – Mubasher: Eastern Co. said that the Industrial Development Authority has invited companies to enter into the tobacco industry through tendering a new cigarette production licence.

The company will be given the option to own 24% of the to-be-established company without paying its share in the cost of the licence, according to a bourse disclosure on Sunday.

The new licence includes manufacturing new electronic cigarettes, the company added.

“The new company does not have the right to produce cigarettes in the same cigarettes price category controlled and manufacturing by Eastern Company, which represents 98% of its total revenues.”

On a side note, the board of directors decided to stop selling treasury shares as 5.18 million shares have been sold since 4 March.

The current total balance is 47.12 million shares, representing 2.09% of the company’s common shares.

During the first half (H1) of FY20/21, the company reported net profits of EGP 2.54 billion.

Revenues went up to EGP 8.16 billion in the July-December period of 2020 from EGP 7.69 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier.