Some highlights from nzherald:"A2 Milk said the Food and Drug...

Some highlights from nzherald:

"A2 Milk said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had deferred the company's request to send infant formula to the US but said approval would not have made a material difference to its results for the current financial year.

The FDA's communication did not go into why it had deferred a2 Milk's request but had approved requests from very minor players, such as Australia's Bubs.

Chief executive David Bortolussi said feedback from a2 Milk's US team was that the infant milk formula crisis had not been solved with significant retail out-of-stock issues continuing across the country.

"The a2 Milk Company stands ready to support US parents and caregivers during this critical time with approximately 1 million cans of premium a2 Platinum infant milk formula (27m 8oz bottle serves) through to the end of the November discretionary period and has one of the largest capacities in the industry to provide long term supply," Bortolussi said.

"In any event, we would not expect that this opportunity over the current FDA enforcement discretion period would have a material impact on the company's financial results in 2023 due to the market dynamics and cost to serve the US infant milk formula market," he said.

Dual-listed a2 Milk's main infant formula market is China, and analysts have long debated whether the ability to send some stock to the US would be a help or a hindrance for the former high flier, whose earnings have come under pressure in recent years.

While a2 Milk does not sell infant formula in the US, the company is making a big push there with its dairy products, which contain just the a2 beta protein and not the a1 beta protein that exists in standard milk.

In 2015 a2 Milk entered the US on a fresh milk platform, in much the same way as it had done in the Australian market, which later became a springboard for bigger and better things.

A2 Milk is firmly focused on China - the world's biggest infant formula market - where it has a significant presence despite a falling birth rate there."