Kirin, which had been reassessing the value of the subsidiary as it looked to sell the business, said it decided to recognise an impairment loss of around 57.1 billion yen ($511.56 million).

The company now expects a profit of 81.9 billion yen for the year through December, compared with a previous 139.0 billion yen forecast.

It also announced it was selling Lion's cheese business to Canada's Saputo Inc for 22.4 billion yen, a deal earlier reported in the Nikkei.

($1 = 111.6200 yen)

(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Rashmi Aich)