Amira: Revenue Down 9 percent In The First Half 2016

Dubai / UAE. (anf) Amira Nature Foods Limited, a leading global provider of packaged Indian specialty rice, reported financial results for the six months ended September 30, 2016. Summary:

• Revenue of 210.9 million USD
• Adjusted Ebitda of 27.4 million USD
• Adjusted Ebitda margin of 13.0 percent
• Profit after tax of 10.0 million USD
• Adjusted profits after tax of 12.2 million USD
• Earnings per share («EPS») of 0.27 USD
• Adjusted earnings per share («Adjusted EPS») was 0.34 USD
• Net debt to last twelve months Adjusted Ebitda of 2.6x

Bruce Wacha, Amira’s Chief Financial Officer stated, «Our business continues to recover from the challenges that we faced in fiscal 2016. Although we saw lower sales for the six months ended September 30, 2016 compared to the prior year, our margins remained strong and our balance sheet healthy. The sales declines that we saw were largely driven by reduced pricing and the impact of currency translation due to the stronger Dollar relative to our rupee denominated India business. We believe that our India position has bottomed, while we have managed to hold onto our international business. We have a great platform for growth, benefiting from dual pillars of attractive industry dynamics and deeply entrenched positions in our core geographies. We remain committed to continued improvement in new and existing customer relationships and a return to growth».

Six Months Ended September 30, 2016 Results

Revenue decreased 20.8 million USD, or 9.0 percent, to 210.9 million USD in the six months ended September 30, 2016 from 231.7 million USD in the six months ended September 30, 2015. The decline in revenue was largely, including among other things, due to the current industry trends towards the lower pricing and the impact of FX on the Company’s India business.

During the six months ended September 30, 2016, revenue from international sales contributed 57.8 percent of total sales, and revenue from Indian sales contributed 42.2 percent of total sales. During the six month period ended September 30, 2015, revenue from international sales contributed 47.1 percent of total sales, and revenue from Indian sales contributed 52.9 percent of total sales. During the six months ended September 30, 2016, the Company’s Indian sales decreased 27.4 percent to 89.0 million USD from 122.6 million USD for the same period in 2015. During the six months ended September 30, 2016, the Company’s International sales increased 11.7 percent to 121.9 million USD from 109.1 million USD for the same period in 2015. Sales in India were impacted primarily by reduced industry-wide pricing and was also impacted by the depreciation of the Indian rupee against the U.S. Dollar during the six months ended September 30, 2016 as compared to September 30, 2015. Sales in India decreased approximately 24.2 percent during the six months ended September 30, 2016 as compared to the same period in 2015, when measured in Indian rupees.

During the six months ended September 30, 2016, adjusted Ebitda decreased 3.1 million USD to 27.4 million USD from 30.5 million USD in the prior six months period. Adjusted Ebitda margin was 13.0 percent for the six months ended September 30, 2016, which is in-line with the Company’s historical average and approximately 15 basis points lower than the prior year period. Profit after tax was 10.0 million USD for the period, compared to 9.2 million USD for the prior year period. Adjusted profit after tax was 12.2 million USD for period, compared to 13.5 million USD for the prior year period. EPS was 0.27 USD per share for the period compared to 0.24 USD for the prior year period. Adjusted EPS was 0.34 USD for the period compared to 0.38 USD for the prior year period. A reconciliation of adjusted Ebitda, adjusted Ebitda margin, adjusted profit after tax and adjusted EPS is provided in the «Non-IFRS Financial Measures» section of this release.

For the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2016, the Company generated revenue of 542.6 million USD, adjusted Ebitda of 71.7 million USD and adjusted EPS of 1.13 USD compared to revenue of 342.0 million USD, adjusted Ebitda of 41.9 million USD and adjusted EPS of 0.38 USD per share for the twelve month period ended June 30, 2012 which preceded its initial public offering.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights

As of September 30, 2015, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of 12.8 million USD (not including 3.5 million USD of short term investments, deposits which are available on demand) and adjusted net working capital was 429.2 million USD. Total debt was 204.3 million USD as of September 30, 2016, compared to 209.4 million USD at March 31, 2016 and net debt to LTM adjusted Ebitda was 2.6x. As of September 30, 2016, inventories were 244.6 million USD, compared to 239.0 million USD, trade receivables were 194.7 million USD compared to 189.7 million USD and trade payables were 16.8 million USD compared to 14.5 million USD at March 31, 2016, respectively. Reconciliations of adjusted net working capital to the IFRS measures of working capital and total current and non-current debt, and LTM adjusted Ebitda respectively, are provided in the «Non-IFRS Financial Measures» section of this release.