Parmalat to sell US interests only

Parmalat Finanziaria SpA has begun proceedings to sell its US interests, but has decided to keep its Australian, Canadian and South African businesses, according to unsourced Italian news reports.

The paper also said the company's re-launch plan, outlined yesterday to the Industry Minister Antonio Marzano by Parmalat's administrator Enrico Bondi, said it expects a profit margin of 3.5% in 2006, which is expected to rise later to 8-12%.