ONE more Irish public company may soon depart from a dwindling domestic stock market if the Government approves the transfer of 75 per cent of tea company Lyons Irish Holdings to Unilever Ireland.

Unilever, attracted by Lyons's 56 per cent share of the Irish tea market, paid drinks' group Allied Domecq £73 million for the shareholding last February. It is understood not to be interested in retaining the share quotation.

Lyons is looking to those gloriously politically incorrect Lyons's minstrels, currently dancing to a Riverdance type tune in the latest advertising campaign, to lift both sales and profits. However, costs associated with the promotional push restricted growth in the first half. Results this week show a marginal slippage in Lyons's interim profit to £4.5 million on an equally modest improvement in sales of £14.3 million.

Chairman Pierce Butler said the results were in line with budget and was hopeful of an improvement during the remainder of the year. Despite the pedestrian figures, shareholders' interim dividend is being raised from 7.35p to 7.8p a share.