Amira Nature Foods Ltd (the “Company;” or “Amira” NYSE: ANFI), a leading global provider of branded, packaged Indian specialty rice, today reported financial results for the six months ended September 30, 2015.
Six Months Ended September 30, 2015 versus Six Months Ended September 30, 2014:
• Revenue declined by 17.3% to $231.7 million compared to $280.2 million
• Adjusted EBITDA of $30.5 million compared to $38.8 million
• Adjusted EBITDA margin of 13.2%
• Adjusted profits after tax was $13.5 million compared to $19.8 million
• Adjusted earnings per share (“EPS”) was $0.38 compared to $0.55
• Total debt to last twelve months Adjusted EBITDA of 2.1x
Bruce Wacha, Amira’s Chief Financial Officer stated, “We faced an extremely challenging first half of fiscal 2016 which included current industry trends toward lower pricing, currency translation, three years of re-audits, certain litigations and other temporary short term related business disruptions that required increased financial resources and management time. Nonetheless, we were able to maintain our EBITDA margins at their historical levels and remain profitable. Our business began to recover in the fourth quarter of our fiscal year. We are committed to enhancing our customer relationships and returning to growth.”

Six Months Ended September 30, 2015 Results
Revenue decreased by $48.5 million, or 17.3%, to $231.7 million in the six months ended September 30, 2015 from $280.2 million in the six months ended September 30, 2014. The decline in revenue was driven in part by what management believes to be certain temporary short term challenges, including among other things, current industry trends toward lower pricing, currency translation, obtaining three years of re-audits of the Company’s financial statements, successful completion of a forensic investigation, ongoing litigation and certain business matters which required increased financial resources and management time be devoted to matters that did not generate revenue.

During the six months ended September 30, 2015, the Company’s Indian sales increased by $11.4 million or 10.3% to $122.6 million from $111.2 million in the same period of 2014. Revenue growth in India was negatively impacted by the depreciation of the Indian rupee against the U.S. dollar during the six months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to September 30, 2014. Sales in India grew by approximately 17.4% during the six months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014, when measured in Indian rupees. Sales in India benefited from an increase in distribution which was offset in part by lower prices net of an improved mix. The Company’s International sales decreased by $59.9 million or 35.4% to $109.1 million from $169.0 million for the same period in 2014. International sales were impacted by reduced volumes due in large part to business disruptions which management believes to be short term in nature. During the six months ended September 30, 2015, revenue from international sales contributed 47.1% of total sales, while revenue from Indian sales contributed 52.9% of total sales. During the six month period ended September 30, 2014, revenue from international sales contributed 60.3% of total sales, while revenue from Indian sales contributed 39.7% of total sales.

During the six months ended September 30, 2015, sales of Amira branded and third party branded products declined by $49.0 million or 17.6% to $228.6 million from $277.6 million during the same period in 2014. Amira branded and third party branded sales contribution to 98.7% of total sales for the period, compared to 99.1% in 2014 for the same period. During the six months ended September 30, 2015, institutional sales were $3.1 million or 1.3% of total sales for the period. During the six months ended September 30, 2014, institutional sales were $2.6 million or 0.9% of total sales for the period.

During the six months ended September 30, 2015, adjusted EBITDA decreased $8.3 million to $30.5 million from $38.8 million in the prior six months period. Adjusted EBITDA margins decreased by 60 basis points to 13.2% for the six months ended September 30, 2015, which is in-line with the Company’s three year historical average of 13.2%. The Company’s effective tax rate was 15.7% for the period, compared to 15.9% in the prior year’s period. Adjusted profit after tax was $13.5 million for period, compared to $19.8 million for the prior year’s period. Adjusted EPS was $0.38 for the period compared to $0.55 for the prior year’s 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, 2015, the Company had sales of $651.6 million, adjusted EBITDA of $91.6 million and adjusted EPS of $1.39 compared to revenue of $342.0 million, adjusted EBITDA of $41.9 million and adjusted EPS of $0.38 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’s cash and cash equivalents were $20.7 million (not including $8.2 million of short term investments, deposits which are available on demand) and adjusted net working capital was $374.8 million. Total debt was $191.2 million as of September 30, 2015, compared to $211.0 million at March 31, 2015 and total debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA remained 2.1x. As of September 30, 2015, inventories were $233.7 million, compared to $262.9 million, trade receivables were $168.3 million1 compared to $130.4 million and trade payables were $27.7 million compared to $34.3 million at March 31, 2015, 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.

Outlook
The Company will look to provide additional commentary around its current business conditions when it releases its full year Fiscal 2016 results. It also reiterated the statements made in its Form 6K filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission on January 25, 2016, where it noted that as a result of the three years of audits, certain litigations and other related business disruptions that it has been an extremely challenging year and that it looks forward to a return to normalcy and growth for the business for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017.