AFP - A leading Kuwaiti firm charged with fraud in US army food supply contracts said on Thursday a new company has been appointed by the US military although it will continue for another six months.

Public Warehousing Co. (PWC), also known as Agility, said in a statement on the Kuwait Stock Exchange website that the US Defence Logistics Agency (DLA) has appointed a new firm to manage the main supply contract for Kuwait and Iraq.

The statement did not name the company, but added that due to the redeployment of the US army and to ensure smooth supplies, the DLA asked Agility to continue with the contract for another six months.

Agility also did not provide any details of the contract and when it was going to expire.

The Kuwaiti firm has been in talks with US authorities for an out-of-court settlement for an indictment in connection with an estimated 8.5 billion dollars worth of contracts with the US army.

In November, a US grand jury indicted Agility on multiple counts for allegedly over-billing the Pentagon by illegally inflating prices of food supply contracts.

The company's shares dropped 3.3 percent on Thursday following the news.

Another Kuwaiti logistics company, Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport, said in a similar statement to the bourse that it failed to win the US supply contract.