KARACHI: Johnson & Phillips Pakistan Ltd, a listed company originally set up as a manufacturer of electrical equipment, said onWednesdayit`s optingfor voluntary delisting from the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

The Karachi-based firm listed many reasons for going private, including the `ever-increasing compliance requirements` by the PSX and poor economic conditions that`ve made it `extremely difficult` for the sponsor to run the firm.

Another reason for the voluntary delisting is that the company is no longer a manufacturing concern and is engaged primarily in trading something that`s also `getting extremely difficult` in view of a fluctuating currency, it said.

Other reasons include the small size of the company and the fact that a majority of shareholding is held by the sponsor and his family, resulting in nominal trading of sharesontheexchange.

The voluntary delisting will take place through a buyback of shares currently owned by minority shareholders. The company`s free-float, which is the shareholding easily available for trading on the exchange, is only 10 per cent.

Muhammad Anis Mianoor, majority shareholder, has proposed a purchase price of Rs35 per share for the 10pc stake controlled by minority shareholding.

The company posted a net loss of Rs6.5 million in the first nine months of 2022-23 versus a negative bottom line of Rs6.8m a year ago.