Danone SA said that the French company remains the legal owner of its Russian dairy operations even after the government of that country took control of that business.
The maker of Activia made the statement Wednesday as it reported second-quarter results. Danone is taking a €200 million ($221 million) impairment for the assets on top of a previous €500 million charge. Danone had said in October it expected a writedown of as much as €1 billion.
The Russian business has about 8,000 employees and 12 factories making heritage brands like Prostokvashino soured cream. Earlier this month Danone had renamed its Activia brand in Russia to AktiBio, part of an effort to localize the business and protect its international intellectual property as it attempted to leave.
Last week, Russia transferred the assets to its Federal Property Management Agency for “temporary management,” according to the decree by President Vladimir Putin. The government justified the move with recently passed rules aimed at companies from “unfriendly” countries. Now the business is managed by a relative of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Read more: Western Companies in Russia Fear More Asset Grabs by the Kremlin
Yakub Zakriev, 32, who’s Chechnya’s agriculture minister, is listed as general director of Danone Russia, according to the official Spark-Interfax disclosure service. He’s a nephew of Kadyrov, the Chechen ruler who’s a protégé of Putin and who has been repeatedly accused of human rights violations in the southern Russian republic.
Danone Chief Executive Officer Antoine de Saint-Affrique said the company remains focused on employees’ safety and operational continuity. He spoke on a webcast with analysts.
The company also said will make an adjustment of €500 million on the balance sheet to reflect negative currency transactions.
