Saudi's Savola sells Kazakhstan edible oil unit for $28.5 million

Saudi Arabia's Savola Group has sold its loss-making Kazakhstan edible oil business to a Russian company for SR107 million ($28.5 million), the Riyadh-listed food producer said in a bourse filing on Sunday, arabnews.com reports.

Savola, which last month reported a 43 percent rise in first-quarter net profit, has made a capital gain of SR17 million from the sale, according to the statement, which did not identify the acquiring company.
The Kazakhstan unit made a loss of SR1.8 million in 2013 and its sale was part of a wider strategy to offload underperforming businesses, Savola said. The Saudi firm is a major producer of cooking oil, sugar and other foodstuffs.