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Reuters
Reuters
Business

Australia's Bellamy's extends share freeze, awaits progress on China licence suspension

FILE PHOTO: A person holds a tin of Bellamy's organic toddler milk formula, Australia's top maker of organic formula, in Sydney December 2, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo

(Reuters) - Infant formula maker Bellamy's Australia Ltd <BAL.AX> said it has requested an extension of a share trading halt as it seeks more information about China's decision to suspend the import licence of its newly-acquired Australian cannery.

After entering a trading halt on July 7 following the suspension, Bellamy's said in a statement on Tuesday the Chinese regulator in charge of its import licence had asked it for "certain information" about its Camperdown Powder Pty Ltd factory.

The licence suspension was a result of allegations a third party had made to Chinese authorities about "certain previous quality issues" concerning Camperdown's processing facility, it added. A Bellamy's spokesman would not name the third party.

China accounts for a third of Bellamy's revenue and a third of its pre-tax profit, according to its half-yearly earnings update in February.

The regulator had not made any findings against Camperdown, Bellamy's said.

In any case, the licence suspension would not affect its China-bound formula since the factory currently made product only for third-party vendors.

Bellamy's stock last traded at A$6.74 on Thursday, sharply down from a peak about A$15.1 last August.

The company requested its shares be suspended until July 24.

(Reporting By Shashwat Pradhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Byron Kaye and Stephen Coates)

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