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EX-32.2 - EXHIBIT 32.2 - Synutra International, Inc.t1700333_ex32-2.htm
EX-32.1 - EXHIBIT 32.1 - Synutra International, Inc.t1700333_ex32-1.htm
EX-31.2 - EXHIBIT 31.2 - Synutra International, Inc.t1700333_ex31-2.htm
EX-31.1 - EXHIBIT 31.1 - Synutra International, Inc.t1700333_ex31-1.htm

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C.  20549

 

 

 

FORM 10-Q

 

 

 

xQUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended December 31, 2016

 

OR

 

¨TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from                 to                 .

 

Commission file number 001-33397

 

 

 

SYNUTRA INTERNATIONAL, INC.

 

 

 

DELAWARE   13-4306188
(State or Other Jurisdiction of   I.R.S. Employer
Incorporation or Organization)   Identification No.

 

2275 Research Blvd., Suite 500

Rockville, Maryland 20850

(Address of Principal Executive Offices, Zip Code)

 

(301) 840-3888

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

 

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x  No  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer ¨ Accelerated filer x
   
Non-accelerated filer ¨ Smaller reporting company ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨  No x

 

As of February 9, 2017, there were 56,690,400 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding. 

 

 

 

   

 

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 

    Page
     
PART I FINANCIAL INFORMATION    
     
Item 1. Financial Statements   1
     
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations   15
     
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk   31
     
Item 4. Controls and Procedures   31
     
PART II OTHER INFORMATION    
     
Item 1. Legal Proceedings   32
     
Item 1A. Risk Factors   32
     
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds   32
     
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities   33
     
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures   33
     
Item 5. Other Information   33
     
Item 6. Exhibits   33
     
Signatures   34

 

   

 

PART I FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

ITEM 1.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

SYNUTRA INTERNATIONAL, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Dollars and shares in thousands, except per share data)

(UNAUDITED)

 

  

December 31, 

2016 

  

March 31, 

2016 

 
ASSETS          
Current Assets:          
Cash and cash equivalents  $51,401   $102,667 
Restricted cash   32,362    77,787 
Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $806 and $1,435, as of December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2016, respectively   28,315    29,911 
Inventories   129,447    98,360 
Due from related parties   1,080    2,486 
Receivable from disposal of a subsidiary   997    1,161 
Deferred tax assets   14,630    15,781 
Prepayments and other current assets   48,041    30,675 
Investment held at trust   0    3,169 
Total current assets   306,273    361,997 
           
Property, plant and equipment, net   302,938    294,185 
Land use rights, net   7,811    8,541 
Intangible assets, net   2,802    2,661 
Restricted cash   172,236    128,397 
Due from related parties   0    2,223 
Deferred tax assets   4,102    3,481 
Long-term loan receivable   7,208    9,286 
Other non-current assets   12,564    6,326 
TOTAL ASSETS  $815,934   $817,097 
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY          
Current Liabilities:          
Short-term debt  $163,379   $95,175 
Long-term debt due within one year   76,209    95,504 
Accounts payable   71,642    76,862 
Income taxes payable   1,794    2,721 
Due to related parties   205    132 
Advances from customers   30,111    25,186 
Other current liabilities   48,805    49,617 
Total current liabilities   392,145    345,197 
Long-term debt   271,872    315,512 
Deferred government subsidies   6,699    7,196 
Capital lease obligations   6,447    7,315 
Other long-term liabilities   4,199    5,077 
Total liabilities   681,362    680,297 
           
Equity:          
Common stockholders’ equity:          
Common stock, $.0001 par value: 250,000 shares authorized; 57,301 shares issued and 56,691 shares outstanding as of both December 31, 2016, and March 31, 2016   6    6 
Additional paid-in capital   134,693    134,693 
Accumulated deficit   (7,065)   (14,810)
Accumulated other comprehensive income   2,427    13,352 
Total common stockholders’ equity   130,061    133,241 
Noncontrolling interest   4,511    3,559 
Total equity   134,572    136,800 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY  $815,934   $817,097 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

 

 1 

  

SYNUTRA INTERNATIONAL, INC. 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS 

  (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) 

(UNAUDITED)

 

   Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended 
   December 31,   December 31, 
   2016   2015   2016   2015 
Net sales  $109,053   $109,256   $269,622   $278,933 
-including sales to related parties   4,406    3,593    11,495    8,946 
Cost of sales   66,578    53,891    155,830    141,031 
Gross profit   42,475    55,365    113,792    137,902 
Selling and distribution expenses   15,898    14,001    40,591    40,569 
Advertising and promotion expenses   12,156    12,835    29,223    30,921 
General and administrative expenses   7,678    8,000    22,622    20,701 
Loss on a supply contract   0    0    2,833    0 
Government subsidies   146    105    403    307 
Income from operations   6,889    20,634    18,926    46,018 
Interest expense   3,580    4,117    10,471    12,495 
Interest income   1,814    2,179    5,615    6,713 
Foreign currency exchange gain (loss), net   2,477    (2,423)   (1,851)   (10,975)
Other expense, net   104   179    291   599
Income before income tax expense   7,496    16,094    11,928    28,662 
Income tax expense   2,359    3,823    4,142    7,754 
Net income   5,137    12,271    7,786    20,908 
Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interest   192    233    41    768 
Net income attributable to common stockholders  $4,945   $12,038   $7,745   $20,140 
                     
Weighted average common stock outstanding – basic and diluted   56,691    57,026    56,691    57,163 
Earnings per share – basic and diluted  $0.09   $0.21   $0.14   $0.35 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

 

 2 

  

SYNUTRA INTERNATIONAL, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

 (Dollars in thousands) 

(UNAUDITED)

 

   Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended 
   December 31,   December 31, 
   2016   2015   2016   2015 
Net income  $5,137   $12,271   $7,786   $20,908 
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax:                    
Currency translation adjustment   (8,371)   (3,773)   (11,224)   (2,422)
Other comprehensive loss   (8,371)   (3,773)   (11,224)   (2,422)
Comprehensive (loss) income   (3,234)   8,498    (3,438)   18,486 
Less: Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest   17    416    (258)   942 
Comprehensive (loss) income attributable to common stockholders  $(3,251)  $8,082   $(3,180)  $17,544 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

 

 3 

  

SYNUTRA INTERNATIONAL, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY

(Dollars and shares in thousands)

(UNAUDITED)

 

    Synutra International Inc. Stockholders' Equity                  
   Common Stock                     
   Shares   Amount   Additional
paid-in
capital
   Accumulated
deficit
   Accumulated
other
comprehensive
income
   Noncontrolling
interest
   Total
Equity
 
Balance, March 31, 2015   57,301   $6   $135,440   $(35,046)  $11,526   $2,643   $114,569 
                                    
Net income   0    0    0    20,140    0    768    20,908 
Other comprehensive income, net of tax of nil   0    0    0    0    (2,596)   174    (2,422)
Repurchase of noncontrolling interest   0    0    1,820    0    186    (3,491    (1,485)
Contribution from noncontrolling shareholders   0    0    430    0    (186)   3,491    0 
Shares repurchased   (464)   0    (2,371    0    0    0    (2,371)
Balance, December 31, 2015   56,837   $6   $135,319   $(14,906)  $8,930   $3,585   $132,934 
                                    
Balance, March 31, 2016   56,691   $6   $134,693   $(14,810)  $13,352   $3,559   $136,800 
Net income   0    0    0    7,745    0    41    7,786 
Other comprehensive income, net of tax of nil   0    0    0    0    (10,925)   (299)   (11,224)
Contribution from noncontrolling shareholders   0    0    0    0    0    1,210    1,210 
Balance, December 31, 2016   56,691   $6   $134,693   $(7,065)  $2,427   $4,511   $134,572 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

 

 4 

  

SYNUTRA INTERNATIONAL, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Dollars in thousands) 

(UNAUDITED)

 

   Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
   2016   2015 
Operating activities:          
Net income  $7,786   $20,908 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:          
Depreciation and amortization   7,849    7,247 
Bad debt expense (reversal)   (538)   (1,367)
Inventory write down   8,029    5,491 
Deferred income tax   (849)   (214)
Loss on a supply contract   556    0 
Other   2    61 
Changes in assets and liabilities:          
Accounts receivable   884    (8,067)
Inventories   (47,214)   (10,069)
Due from related parties   3,086    958 
Prepaid land use right   0    (518)
Prepayments and other current assets   (23,427)   (17,232)
Other non-current assets   (2,460)   (7)
Accounts payable   9,511    23,326 
Due to related parties   73    117 
Advances from customers   6,645    9,127 
Income tax receivable/payable   (850)   (3,894)
Other current liabilities   2,896    6,028 
Other noncurrent liabilities   (1,181)   373 
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities   (29,202)   32,268 
           
Investing activities:          
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment   (44,922)   (96,914)
Repurchase of non-controlling interest   0    (1,486)
Acquisition of intangible assets   (371)   0 
Change in restricted cash   (12,663)   (12,127)
Proceeds from assets disposal   40    16 
Proceeds from disposal of subsidiaries   72    5,617 
Changes in long-term loan receivable   0    (9,809)
Proceed of investment held at trust   3,103    0 
Net cash used in investing activities   (54,741)   (114,703)
           
Financing activities:          
Proceeds from short-term debt   160,806    110,441 
Repayment of short-term debt   (88,068)   (155,683)
Proceeds from long-term debt   63,643    211,914 
Repayment of long-term debt   (101,079)   (98,972)
Payment on capital lease obligations   (422)   (519)
Proceeds from noncontrolling interest   1,219    0 
Payment on shares repurchased   0    (2,371)
Net cash provided by financing activities   36,099    64,810 
           
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents   (3,422)   (2,340)
           
Net change in cash and cash equivalents   (51,266)   (19,965)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period   102,667    85,171 
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period  $51,401   $65,206 
           
Supplemental cash flow information:          
Interest paid, net of capitalized interest of $4.0 million and $3.2 million  $10,000   $10,677 
Income tax paid   5,839    11,858 
           
Non-cash investing and financing activities:          
Purchase of property, plant and equipment included in accounts payable  $6,190   $13,202 
Consideration receivable on disposal of subsidiaries   0    4,891 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

 

 5 

  

SYNUTRA INTERNATIONAL, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(UNAUDITED)

 

1.ORGANIZATION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES

 

Synutra International, Inc. and its subsidiaries (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Company” or “Synutra”) are principally engaged in production, distribution and sales of dairy-based nutritional products under the “Shengyuan” or “Synutra” line of brands in the People’s Republic of China (“China” or “PRC”). The Company focuses on selling powdered formula products for infants and adults, and also engages in other nutritional product offerings, such as certain nutritional ingredients and supplements.

 

2.BASIS OF PRESENTATION

 

The Company is responsible for the unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this document, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”) and include all normal and recurring adjustments that management of the Company considers necessary for a fair presentation of its financial position and operating results. The Company prepared these statements following the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for interim reporting. As permitted under those rules, the Company condensed or omitted certain footnotes or other financial information that are normally required by US GAAP for annual financial statements. These statements should be read in combination with the consolidated financial statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016.

 

The unaudited consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of Synutra International, Inc. and its subsidiaries, its consolidated variable interest entity, Beijing Shengyuan Huimin Technology Service Co., Ltd. (the variable interest entity, or "VIE"), in which the Company has a controlling financial interest. A controlling financial interest is typically determined when a company holds a majority of the voting equity interest in an entity. US GAAP provides guidance on the identification and financial reporting for entities over which control is achieved through means other than voting interests, which requires certain VIEs to be consolidated by the primary beneficiary of the entity if the equity investors in the entity do not have the characteristics of a controlling financial interest or do not have sufficient equity at risk for the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties.  Through the contractual arrangements between the Company and the VIE, the Company controls the operating activities and holds all the beneficial interests of the VIE and has been determined to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE. The Company has concluded that such contractual arrangements are legally enforceable. The operations associated with the consolidated VIE are insignificant and hold de minimis assets and liabilities.

 

Net income or loss of a subsidiary is attributed to the Company and to the noncontrolling interests on the basis of relative ownership interest. Noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries are presented separately from the Company's equity therein.

 

All inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

The operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for any other interim period or for the full year.

 

 6 

  

3.INVENTORIES

 

The Company’s inventories as of December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2016 are summarized as follows:

 

(In thousands)  December 31,
2016
   March 31,
2016
 
Raw materials  $56,975   $41,073 
Work-in-progress   10,137    20,609 
Finished goods   62,335    36,678 
Total  $129,447   $98,360 

 

The Company recorded lower of cost or market provisions for inventory of $2.6 million and $0.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and $8.0 million and $5.5 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

 

4.RELATED PARTIES AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

A.Related party balances

 

a.Due from related parties, including current and non-current portion

 

(In thousands)  December 31,
2016
   March 31,
2016
 
Sheng Zhi Da Dairy Group Corporation  $1,049   $3,349 
St. Angel (Beijing) Business Service Co. Ltd.   0    1,334 
Beijing St. Angel Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.   19    23 
Beijing AoNaier Feed Stuff Co., Ltd.   12    3 
Total  $1,080   $4,709 

 

b.Due to related parties

 

(In thousands)  December 31,
2016
   March 31,
2016
 
Beijing St. Angel Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.  $77   $132 
Beijing AoNaier Feed Stuff Co., Ltd.   13    0 
St. Angel (Beijing ) Business Service Co. Ltd.   115    0 
Total  $205   $132 

 

The amount due to and due from related parties were unsecured and interest free.

 

 7 

 

B.Sales to and services for related parties

 

In the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016, the Company’s sales to related parties mainly included feed grade milk powder sold to Beijing AoNaier Feed Stuff Co., Ltd. (AoNaier for short) and powdered formula products sold to St. Angel (Beijing) Business Service Co., Ltd. (St. Angel (Beijing) Business Service for short). Other immaterial transactions with related parties included renting office spaces to Beijing Honnete Dairy Co., Ltd. (Honnete for short), AoNaier, St. Angel (Beijing) Business Service and St. Angel Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. In the three and nine months ended December 31, 2015, the Company’s sales to related parties mainly included feed grade milk powder and whey powder to AoNaier, and powdered formula products to St. Angel (Beijing) Business Service.

 

   Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended 
   December 31,   December 31, 
(In thousands)  2016   2015   2016   2015 
Beijing Honnete Dairy Co., Ltd.  $189   $2   $193   $6 
St. Angel (Beijing) Business Service Co., Ltd.   4,082    3,559    11,107    8,827 
Qingdao Lvyin Waste Disposal Investment Management Co., Ltd.   (5)   0    1    2 
Beijing AoNaier Feed Stuff Co., Ltd.   135    26    179    93 
Beijing St. Angel Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.   5    6    15    18 
Total  $4,406   $3,593   $11,495   $8,946 

 

C.Purchases from related parties

 

In the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, St. Angel Cultural Communication conducted certain marketing activities for the Company.

 

   Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended 
   December 31,   December 31, 
(In thousands)  2016   2015   2016   2015 
Beijing St. Angel Cultural Communication Co. Ltd.  $110   $118   $338   $347 

 

 8 

  

5.PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, NET

 

(In thousands)  December 31,
2016
   March 31,
2016
 
Property, plant and equipment, cost:          
Land  $1,777   $1,914 
Capital lease of building   4,864    5,469 
Buildings and renovations   161,568    79,984 
Plant and machinery   169,499    64,584 
Office equipment and furnishings   33,635    11,973 
Motor vehicles   2,309    2,460 
Others   8,866    1,143 
Total cost  $382,518   $167,527 
Less: Accumulated depreciation:          
Capital lease of building   1,109    1,111 
Buildings and renovations   21,997    20,780 
Plant and machinery   46,610    45,879 
Office equipment and furnishings   9,610    9,672 
Motor vehicles   1,897    1,920 
Others   891    857 
Total accumulated depreciation   82,114    80,219 
Construction in progress   2,534    206,877 
Property, plant and equipment, net  $302,938   $294,185 

 

Land represents a parcel of land acquired for the Company’s French subsidiary.

 

Construction in progress mainly represents construction and equipment purchased for the French subsidiary as of March 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2016, the French plant had substantially completed the construction for the intended use. 

 

The Company recorded depreciation expense for owned assets and capital leased assets of $2.6million and $2.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and $7.7 million and $7.2 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

 

6.LONG-TERM LOAN RECEIVABLE

 

In May 2015, the Company granted a four-year long-term loan of RMB 60.0 million (equivalent to $8.6 million) with interest rate of 7% to Qingdao Jisheng Iron Printing and Tin Making Co.,LTD. (“Qingdao Jisheng”), a supplier for the iron sheet used for its formula products. Qingdao Jisheng shall use the loan to expand its own upstream manufacturing capacity. RMB10.0 million, RMB20.0 million and RMB30.0 million shall be repaid by Qingdao Jisheng in May 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. The outstanding principal loan amount of $1.4 million and $7.2 million are separately recorded as prepayments and other current assets, and long-term loan receivable on the consolidated balance sheet, which is close to its fair value. On the other hand, in fiscal 2016 the Company received RMB27.0 million in cash equivalent from Qingdao Jisheng as a performance guaranty to be the exclusive iron sheet supplier to its Carhaix facility. See Note 9 for details. The Company evaluated the credit risk associated with the loan and estimated the cash flow expected to be collected over the life of the loan. A valuation allowance will be established if the loan is deemed unable to be collected. No valuation allowance has been recorded as of December 31, 2016.

 

7.INVESTMENT HELD AT TRUST

 

In October and November 2015, the Company launched two marketing initiatives whereby customers can purchase online cash coupons through the BaiduPay platform (the “Platform”). The cash coupons can be redeemed by the customer within one year from the date of purchase for the Company’s products posted on the Platform. The customers have the right to request the Company to redeem their unused coupons at the end of the one-year period for the original purchase amount plus an annual rate of 8.0%. According to the agreement between the Company and the Platform, the cash received from the customers from the purchases of cash coupons (the “Fund”) is required to be deposited in a specific trust managed by a third party financial institution (the “Trust Company”) to protect the customers’ interest and only the portion of the Fund related to the cash coupon redeemed for the Company’s products can be utilized by the Company at its discretion. The Fund relating to the unused coupons is restricted for use by the Company and can only be invested in principal protected investment products agreed by the Company and the Trust Company.

 

As agreed by both parties, the Fund was invested to purchase a trust product consisting of fixed income debt securities with interest rate of 7% and maturity term less than one year. The Company classified the investment as held-to-maturity securities and carried it at amortized cost.

 

As of December 31, 2016, the Company received RMB21.1 million (equivalent to $3.1 million) from the Trust Company and completed the BaiduPay marketing activities and the related Trust asset generation and cash collection.

 

 9 

  

8.DEBT

 

The Company’s debts consisted of the following:

 

(In thousands)  December 31,
2016
   March 31,
2016
 
Short-term debt  $163,379   $95,175 
Long-term debt due within one year   76,209    95,504 
Total debt, current   239,588    190,679 
Long-term debt, non-current portion   271,872    315,512 
Total  $511,460   $506,191 

 

Long-term debt

 

The long-term debts, including current portion, as of December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2016 are comprised of:

 

(In thousands)  December 31,
2016
   March 31,
2016
 
Long-term debt borrowed in Mainland China  $225,229   $262,514 
Long-term debt borrowed in Hong Kong   15,520    47,061 
Long-term debt borrowed in France   107,332    101,441 
Total  $348,081   $411,016 

 

As of December 31, 2016, the long-term debts borrowed in China was secured by restricted cash deposit of $57.7 million. These debts used floating interest rates, which are calculated based on the benchmark lending interest rate published by the People’s Bank of China, or LIBOR . The maturity dates range from June 2017 to June 2019.

 

As of December 31, 2016, long-term debt borrowed in Hong Kong was secured by restricted cash deposits of $7.9 million. These debts used floating interest rates, which are calculated based on LIBOR. The maturity date of the used facilities was March 2017. 

 

As of December 31, 2016, long-term debts borrowed in France was secured by restricted cash deposits of $46.8million and all the long-lived assets of the French Project (defined in Note 10). These debts have floating interest rates ranging from LIBOR+2% to LIBOR+4.3%. The maturity dates of the borrowed debts range from February 2018 to September 2022.

 

As of December 31, 2016, short-term debts were secured by restricted cash deposits of $67.9 million. The rest restricted cash, including short-term and long-term, was $24.3 million, which was the deposit for letters of credit and bank acceptance bills, and deposit not yet due for repaid loan.

 

The weighted average interest rate as of December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2016 for the long-term debts was 3.6% and 3.7%, respectively.

 

As of December 31, 2016, borrowings both in short-term and long-term, including current portion, denominated in RMB, USD and EUR were $184.6 million, $27.5 million and $299.4 million, respectively.

 

Maturities on long-term debt, including current and non-current portion are as follows:

 

(In thousands)  Twelve
Months
Ended
 
December 31, 2017  $76,209 
December 31, 2018   177,378 
December 31, 2019   38,669 
December 31, 2022   55,825 
Total  $348,081 

 

 10 

 

The total amount of interest cost incurred was $4.9 million and $5.4 million, and the amount thereof that has been capitalized was $1.3 million and $1.3 million, for the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The total amount of interest cost incurred was $14.4 million and $15.7 million, and the amount thereof that has been capitalized was $4.0 million and $3.2 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

  

9.OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES

 

(In thousands) 

December 31, 

2016 

  

March 31, 

2016 

 
Accrued discount, rebate and slotting fee  $25,321   $25,932 
Payroll and bonus payables   8,425    12,111 
Accrued selling expenses   4,243    2,975 
Accrued advertising and promotion expenses   2,524    2,812 
Others   8,292    5,787 
Total  $48,805   $49,617 

 

In May 2015, Qingdao Jisheng agreed to pay RMB 27.0 million (equivalent to $3.9 million) to the Company as performance guaranty to secure the exclusive iron sheet supplier status for the Company's French Project for ten years starting from its commercial operation. Under the agreement, the Company is required to fulfill a contractual amount of minimum purchase volume at fair market value each year for a period of ten years. If the Company fulfills the contractual minimum purchase volume, it can keep the entire performance guaranty amount. If the Company failed to meet this minimum annual purchase volume, the Company is obligated to compensate Qingdao Jisheng at RMB 0.1 per tin for the shortfall. By March 31, 2016, the Company had received RMB27.0 million (equivalent to $3.9 million) from Qingdao Jisheng. As the Company’s French Project had not begun purchasing iron sheet as of December 31, 2016, $0.4 million and $3.5 million were recorded in "other current liabilities" and "other noncurrent liabilities" as of December 31, 2016, respectively. The amount will be recognized based on actual order as a reduction to cost.

 

10.LOSS ON A SUPPLY CONTRACT

 

In September 2012, the Company entered into a 10-year milk supply agreement with Sodiaal Union (“Sodiaal”), a French agricultural cooperative company, for its French Project. In accordance with the terms of this supply agreement, the Company is committed to purchasing a fixed volume of raw milk from Sodiaal on a monthly basis. If there is a shortfall between the Company’s actual purchases and the contractual amount, the Company would have to pay a cash compensation to Sodiaal, which is determined as the difference between the milk purchase prices to be paid by Sodiaal to the milk farmers and the spot market price for the shortfall quantity. Under these agreements, the Company undertakes to build a new drying facility in Carhaix, France (the “French Project”) for the manufacture of powdered milk and fat-enriched, or high oil, demineralized whey. The Company is committed to purchasing, and Sodiaal and Euroserum are committed to selling, 288 million liters of milk per year for ten years, an amount of whey equivalent to 24,000 tons of 70% demineralized pre-concentrated dry whey extract per year for ten years, and 6,000 tons of 70% demineralized whey powder per year, or an equivalent quantity of liquid whey, for ten years, at market based prices at the time of purchase, to satisfy the production needs of the new drying facility. If the Company purchased less than the agreed amount, the Company would compensate Sodiaal or Euroserum, as the case may be, for the loss suffered. The Company initially agreed to begin purchasing raw milk from Sodiaal in January 2016; however, the purchase plan has been delayed as the milk tower did not commence trial operation until June 2016.

 

As required by the contract, the Company paid Sodiaal and third-party processors to process the raw milk into powder or other dairy products to fulfill its purchase obligations under the contract. Given that such payment was a result of its commitment to purchase rather than an expense required to test run the facility itself, rather than including this loss in its total project investment, the Company recorded a $8.8 million and $2.8 million loss related to this contract during the three months ended March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2016, respectively. Since June 2016, the Company gradually increased the volume of raw milk the Company processed in-house, and since August 2016 when its second tower commenced trial operation, the Company has been able to fulfill all of its purchase commitments. The second tower is able to process liquid whey protein and liquid milk, and the Company has been using the second tower to process liquid milk on an as-needed basis to avoid further losses under its milk purchase contract. The Company did not incur additional contract loss in the three months ended December 31, 2016.

  

 11 

 

11.EQUITY

 

(In thousands)  December 31,
2016
  

March 31,

2016

 
Common stock, $.0001 par value: 250,000 shares authorized; 57,301 shares issued and 56,691 shares outstanding at both December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2016 (share number in thousands)  $6   $6 
Additional paid-in capital   134,693    134,693 
Accumulated deficit   (7,065)   (14,810)
Accumulated other comprehensive income   2,427    13,352 
Total common stockholders’ equity   130,061    133,241 
Noncontrolling interest   4,511    3,559 
Total equity  $134,572   $136,800 

 

On September 10, 2015, the Company’s board of directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of up to an aggregate amount of $20.0 million of the Company’s common stock from time to time through September 10, 2016. Under the program, shares may be repurchased in privately negotiated and/or open market transactions, including under plans complying with Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act. Following the approval, the Company entered into a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan under the Exchange Act permitting open market repurchases of the Company’s common stock based on certain triggers described in the trading plan. In fiscal year 2016, the Company repurchased 610,313 shares of common stock in an open trading window or under the Rule 10b5-1 trading plan at an aggregate cost of $3.0 million, which was paid for through cash on hand. The share repurchase program automatically terminated due to the Company’s public announcement of receiving a non-binding proposal letter, dated January14, 2016, from Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of the Company, and an affiliated entity of his, proposing a “going-private” transaction. For details, please refer to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on January 15, 2016.

 

 12 

 

12.INCOME TAXES

 

The effective tax rate is based on expected income (loss), statutory tax rates and incentives available in the various jurisdictions in which the Company operates. For interim financial reporting, the Company estimates the annual tax rate based on projected taxable income for the full year and records a quarterly income tax provision (benefit) in accordance with the ASC No. 740-270, “Income tax – Interim reporting”. As the year progresses, the Company refines the estimates of the year’s taxable income as new information becomes available. This continual estimation process often results in a change to the expected effective tax rate for the year. When this occurs, the Company adjusts the income tax provision (benefit) during the quarter in which the change in estimate occurs so that the year-to-date provision reflects the expected annual tax rate.

 

The Company considers positive and negative evidence to determine whether some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will more likely than not be realized. This assessment considers, among other matters, the nature, frequency and severity of recent losses, forecasts of future profitability, the duration of statutory carryforward periods, the Company's experience with tax attributes expiring unused and tax planning alternatives. Valuation allowances have been established for deferred tax assets based on a more-likely-than-not threshold. The Company's ability to realize deferred tax assets depends on its ability to generate sufficient taxable income within the carryforward periods provided for in the tax law.

 

13.EARNINGS PER SHARE

 

For purposes of calculating basic and diluted earnings per share, the Company used the following weighted average common stocks outstanding:

 

   Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended 
   December 31,   December 31, 
(In thousands except for per share data)  2016   2015   2016   2015 
Net income attributable to common stockholders  $4,945   $12,038   $7,745   $20,140 
Weighted average common stock outstanding – basic and diluted   56,691    57,026    56,691    57,163 
Earnings per share - basic and diluted  $0.09   $0.21   $0.14   $0.35 

 

 13 

 

14.SEGMENT REPORTING

 

The Company’s chief operating decision maker has been identified as the chief executive officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Company. In fiscal year 2014, the Company operated and reported its performance in four segments. However, starting from fiscal year 2015, the Company has operated the Powdered Formula and Foods segments as a single business segment based on a shared distribution network and similar marketing strategies. Therefore, there are only three reportable segments for the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015. The three reportable segments are: 

 

Nutritional food - Sales of powdered infant and adult formula products, prepared foods and ultra high temperature (“UHT”) liquid milk products.

 

Nutritional supplement - Sales of nutritional supplement such as chondroitin sulfate to external customers, and microencapsulated Docosahexanoic Acid (“DHA”) and Arachidonic Acid (“ARA”) to powdered formula segment.

 

Other business - Other business includes non-core businesses such as ancillary sales of excess or unusable ingredients and materials to industrial customers, providing genetic diagnostic services for newborn babies, and sales of cosmetics to pregnant women.

 

Segment disclosures are on a performance basis consistent with internal management reporting. The following tables summarized the Company’s revenue and cost generated from different revenue streams.

 

   Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended 
   December 31,   December 31, 
(In thousands)  2016   2015   2016   2015 
NET SALES TO EXTERNAL CUSTOMERS                    
- Nutritional food  $97,974   $96,258   $248,744   $248,249 
- Nutritional supplement   9,432    10,569    14,963    26,684 
- Other business   1,647    2,429    5,915    4,000 
Net sales  $109,053   $109,256   $269,622   $278,933 
INTERSEGMENT SALES                    
- Nutritional food  $199   $220   $333   $278 
- Nutritional supplement   3,897    3,436    10,629    9,291 
- Other business   704    354    1,403    491 
Intersegment sales  $4,800   $4,010   $12,365   $10,060 
GROSS PROFIT (LOSS)                    
- Nutritional food  $40,369   $54,860   $112,950   $136,252 
- Nutritional supplement   1,607    923    2,001    2,011 
- Other business   499    (418)   (1,159)   (361)
Gross profit  $42,475   $55,365   $113,792   $137,902 

 

(In thousands)  December 31,
2016
   March 31,
2016
 
TOTAL ASSETS          
- Nutritional food  $771,029   $757,459 
- Nutritional supplement   37,435    43,962 
- Other business   6,238    20,555 
- Unallocated assets   1,599   4,870 
- Intersegment elimination   (367)   (9,749)
Total  $815,934   $817,097 

   

 14 

 

ITEM 2.    MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 

 

Sections of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the “Form 10-Q”) including, in particular, the Company’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict; therefore, actual results may differ materially from those expressed, implied or forecasted in any such forward-looking statements.

 

Expressions of future goals and expectations or similar expressions including, without limitation, “may,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “does not currently expect,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “targets,” or “continue,” reflecting something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The factors described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K under Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors and below in Part II. Other Information – Item 1A. Risk Factors could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Unless required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. However, readers should carefully review the reports and documents the Company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), particularly its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Annual Report on Form 10-K , Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports.

 

Use of Terms

 

Except where the context otherwise requires and for purposes of the Form 10-Q only:

 

“we,” “us,” the “Company,” “our,” and “Synutra” refer to Synutra International, Inc., and its consolidated subsidiaries;

 

“China” or “PRC” refers to the People’s Republic of China, excluding Taiwan and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau;

 

all references to “ton” or “tons” are to “tonne” or “metric ton;”

 

all references to “Renminbi” or “RMB” are to the legal currency of China;

 

all references to “Euro,” “EUR,” or “€” are to the legal currency of the European Union; and

 

all references to “U.S. dollars,” “USD,” “dollars,” or “$” are to the legal currency of the United States.

 

Amounts may not always add to the totals due to rounding.

 

Available Information

 

The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are filed with the SEC. Such reports and other information filed by the Company with the SEC are available on the Company’s website at http://www.synutra.com when such reports are available on the SEC website. The public may read and copy any materials filed by the Company with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Room 1580, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. The contents of these websites are not incorporated into this filing. Further, the Company’s references to the URLs for these websites are intended to be inactive textual references only.

 

 15 

  

Overview

 

We are a leading infant formula company in China. We principally engage in the production, distribution and sale of dairy-based nutritional products under the “Shengyuan” or “Synutra” line of brands in the PRC. We focus on selling powdered formula products for infants and adults, and also engage in other nutritional product offerings, such as prepared foods and certain nutritional ingredients and supplements. We sell most of our products through an extensive nationwide sales and distribution network covering all provinces and provincial-level municipalities in China. As of December 31, 2016, this network comprised over 990 independent distributors and over 270 independent sub-distributors who sell our products in approximately 27,680 retail outlets.

 

We currently have three reportable segments: 

 

Nutritional Food: includes the sale of powdered infant and adult formula products, with major brands including Super, My Angel and Dutch Cow, UHT liquid milk product under the brand of Dutch Cow introduced in fiscal year 2016, and prepared foods under the brand of Huiliduo;

 

Nutritional Supplement: includes the production and sale of nutritional supplements such as chondroitin sulfate to third parties, and microencapsulated DHA and ARA to the nutritional food segment for use in powdered formula production; and

 

Other Business: includes non-core businesses such as ancillary sales of excess or unusable ingredients and materials to industrial customers, providing genetic diagnostic services for newborn babies, and sales of cosmetics to pregnant women.

 

Executive Summary

 

After the successful implementation of our Gold Mining Strategy, which improved our management of distributors and stores with regard to both inventories and expenses, as more fully described in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year 2014, we continued to execute the same management philosophy in fiscal years 2015 and 2016. We continued to focus on the productivity of our stores, promoters and sales staff, and continued to build our brand through direct communication with consumers via our promoters, rather than through mass market advertisements or promotional campaigns.

 

Based on this philosophy, we launched the Kangaroo program in fiscal year 2015, to enable our in-store promoters to better serve our consumers through our membership loyalty program. Promoters’ compensation was previously solely based on the commission they received on the sales in the stores where they worked and only during the hours they worked. Under the Kangaroo program, we are able to reward bonuses to promoters based on the loyalty points accumulated by their members, regardless of where and when sales occur, which encouraged promoters to maintain an accurate and updated list of their members in our central database. Using our self- developed sales management mobile application “Treasure in Hand,” our promoters can manage mobile communications with their members, including calls, text messages and WeChat messages (the dominant mobile communication application in China) with one app, focusing on the particular community-based WeChat group communications. The Treasure in Hand app is linked to our WeChat corporate account “Thumb Mama,” or “Mu Zhi Ma Ma” in Chinese. If a promoter, or a part-time worker, can pass our standard entrance exam on infant nutrition and health knowledge, they can be admitted into the Thumb Mama program and become a nutritional consultant and host a sub-group under our corporate WeChat account, and then attract members into their respective sub-groups. In addition to maintaining member service through the WeChat group communication, such account is also linked to our Thumb Mall e-commerce platform as described below.

 

In the beginning of fiscal year 2016, we launched our WeChat-based e-commerce platform “Thumb Mall,” or “Mu Zhi Shang Cheng” in Chinese. We have placed our Super brand infant formula products, DutchCow brand adult formula and liquid milk products, and Precious Care brand pregnancy cosmetic products on the Thumb Mall platform. We plan to expand its offerings to include more of our products. If our member orders infant formula products from Thumb Mall, she can enjoy special discounts only available to Kangaroo program members and her nutritional consultant will receive a commission. We intend to encourage the continuous shift from offline stores to our own online platform, which will enable us to further reduce physical retail outlets and the associated overhead. The online program also enables us to recruit part-time, online-only nutritional consultants who do not work in any store and only get paid through commission from online sales, which greatly expands the size of our field sales team without increasing fixed overhead. By the end of fiscal year 2016, sales through Thumb Mall had reached approximately 15% of total sales of Super brand products, and we had attracted approximately 10,000 part-time nutritional consultants into our program.

 

During fiscal 2017, we continued to develop the Kangaroo program, and saw the number of active members with recent purchases continue to rise, along with the number of both full-time and part-time nutritional consultants. Our performance in fiscal 2017, however, was negatively affected by the delayed opening of our French project. As described in more details elsewhere in this Form 10-Q and the Form 10-K for fiscal 2016, the French project includes spray-drying capacity of 45,000 tons for whole milk powder and 45,000 tons for high oil whey protein powder. It also includes 90,000 tons of dry-mixing and canning capacity for canned powdered formula products. We had plans to produce a 100% made-in-France version of our core Super brand infant milk formula products, and introduced this product to our distributors in China at the end of August 31, 2016. While the made-in-France products have received positive feedback from our distributors and mom-and-baby store owner clients, the prolonged delay of the French project to generate reliable production volume has disrupted their order schedule, as our distributors reduced the order volume on made-in-China Super brand and other products in anticipation of the made-in-France products, which failed to be delivered on schedule. However, given the high level of interest expressed by the distributors and stores to carry our made-in-France products, we expect the year-over-year sales to improve once we resolve the delay of the French project to steadily meet the volume demand.

 

 16 

 

We commenced trial operations of our French project in June 2016 and began formal operation of the whole milk tower in July 2016. However, as our whole milk powder is intended to be placed into our canned products with certain density requirements, we spent longer time than expected adjusting the density and other physical or biological properties of the powders. While we completed the physical adjustments of the tower equipment in September 2016, and held a grand opening ceremony on September 28, 2016 during which we showcased the full cycle production capacity of the two towers and the mixing and canning facility, we identified certain glitches of the information controlling system of the facility that would force the facility to automatically turn off with false alarms, as a result of which the facility was unable to generate stable supplies of powder or infant formula products for the Chinese market by November 2016. In December 2016, there were a few working days during which we were able to produce infant formula products at the designed hourly capacity, and the production output of infant formula products from our French project totaled 760 tons in December 2016, and 1,205 tons in the three months ended December 31, 2016. As we were gradually fixing the auto-turn-off problem, on December 31, 2016, we recognized the entire project as finished and reclassified the asset from construction in progress to fixed assets. The total budget of the project was €211.0 million as of December 31, 2016. Despite the interruption in production, with its demonstrated full cycle operation capacity, the French project has received full production permits or certifications from competent authorities, including the import accreditation for both dairy and infant milk formula products from the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China.

 

Our performance in the three months ended December 31, 2016 was also negatively affected by the regulatory uncertainty with regards to production license from China Food and Drug Administration (“CFDA”). In June 2016, CFDA released the final version of guidance for the production license for the general infant formula products, which stipulates that effective January 1, 2018, the number of formulas/brands that each factory is allowed to manufacture is limited to three brands, but it has not released any detailed implementation rules to date. There is considerable uncertainty as to the transition from the current over 2,000 brands in the Chinese market to an estimated 500 brands with approximately 170 factories licensed or accredited to supply infant formula products to the Chinese market. In addition to the adverse effect on the market demand for our My Angel products and certain private label products, during the three months ended December 31, 2016, we experienced negative competitive pressure to our other major domestic brands such as Super. In response to the new regulation, retail outlets have increased their order volumes from major domestic brands, but in return they demanded higher discounts to compensate for the loss of higher spreads that they used to obtain from smaller brands. During the three months ended December 31, 2016, the demand for higher discounts appeared to be consistent across our distributors and outlets, which led us to believe that this will be a more permanent market condition. Nevertheless, we expect our average sales price and profitability to partially recover once we are able to steadily import infant formula products from our French project, as made-in-E.U. products in general enjoy higher prices in the Chinese market. While the infant formula production capacity of our French project is fully stabilized, we expect that the majority of our infant formula product sales will be from made-in-France products and that we may gain market share with the made-in-France products as the smaller brands continue to exit from the market.

 

A third major factor that negatively affected our performance during the three months ended December 31, 2016 was the losses we incurred to launch the Dutch Cow UHT liquid milk products. While the Dutch Cow brand is a leading adult formula brand in China, it takes time for consumers to accept liquid milk products under the same brand. Our sales team, which was trained in the high margin, high brand-loyalty, targeted-marketing formula market, also needs to adapt to the low margin, highly competitive, mass-marketing liquid milk market. As a result, we have experienced slower-than-expected inventory turnover and also have given away substantial amount of free samples and incurred higher-than-expected expenses on promotional activities, resulting in a decrease in gross margin under this product in the three months ended December 31, 2016. While we have seen a significant increase in sales volume in the last three months for the Dutch Cow liquid milk products, in particular driven by e-commerce generated volumes from promotional events organized by e-commerce platforms in November 2016, we still expect to face inventory pressure for this product in the near team. We believe, however, in the long run, our investment to expand the awareness and client base for the Dutch Cow products will build up significant equity in this brand.

 

On January 14, 2016, our board of directors received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter from Mr. Liang Zhang, our chairman and chief executive officer, and an affiliated entity of his, which together with Mr. Zhang comprised the buyer group at the time, to acquire all of our outstanding common stock not already owned by the buyer group in a going-private transaction for $5.91 in cash per share. On January 21, 2016, our board of directors formed a special committee, consisting solely of independent directors, to consider the proposed going-private transaction and to negotiate with the buyer group, while considering other strategic options available to us. On January 30, 2016, the special committee received a letter from the buyer group led by Mr. Zhang, stating, among other things, that such buyer group would not proceed with the proposed going-private transactions unless approved by the special committee. Our share repurchase program approved on September 10, 2015 had automatically terminated due to our public announcement of receiving such non-binding proposal letter. On November 17, 2016, we entered into an agreement and plan of merger in connection with the proposed going-private transaction. For details, please refer to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on November 17, 2016. There can be no assurance that the merger agreement or the transactions contemplated thereunder or any alternative transactions will be approved by our stockholders or consummated. 

 

 17 

 

Three Months Results of Operations

 

Below is a summary of selected comparative results of operations for the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015:

 

   Three Months
Ended December 31,
     
(In thousands, except per share data)  2016   2015  

% 

Change 

 
Net sales  $109,053   $109,256    -0.2%
 - Nutritional food segment   97,974    96,258    2%
Cost of sales   66,578    53,891    24%
 - Nutritional food segment   57,605    41,398    39%
Gross profit   42,475    55,365    -23%
 - Nutritional food segment   40,369    54,860    -26%
Gross Margin   39%   51%   -23%
 - Nutritional food segment   41%   57%   -28%
Income from operations   6,889    20,634    -67%
Interest expense, net   1,766    1,938    -9%
Foreign currency exchange gain (loss), net   2,477    (2,423)   202%
Income before income tax expense   7,496    16,094    -53%
Income tax expense   2,359    3,823    -38%
Net income   5,137    12,271    -58%
Net income attributable to common stockholders  $4,945   $12,038    -59%
Weighted average common stock outstanding – basic and diluted   56,691    57,026    -1%
Earnings per share – basic and diluted  $0.09   $0.21    -67%

 

 18 

 

Net Sales

 

Our net sales by reportable segments are shown in the table below:

 

   Three Months
Ended December 31,
       % Change in 
(In thousands, except percentage data)  2016   2015  

%

Change

   Volume   Price 
Nutritional food  $97,974   $96,258    2%   9%   -19%
Nutritional supplement   9,432    10,569    -11%          
Other business   1,647    2,429    -32%          
Net sales  $109,053   $109,256    -0.2%          

 

Net sales of our nutritional food segment include powdered formula products for infants, children and adults, prepared food for infants and children, and liquid milk. The minor increase in net sales of our nutritional food segment was mainly due to the combined effects of the following factors:

 

  The net sales of liquid milk increased to $12.7 million in the three months ended December 31, 2016 from nil in the three months ended December 31, 2015.

 

The sales volume of powdered formula products for the three months ended December 31, 2016 was 8,358 tons, as compared to 7,647 tons for the same period in the previous year.

 

  The average selling price of powdered formula products for the three months ended December 31, 2016 was $10,204 per ton, compared to $12,588 per ton for the same period in the previous year. Average selling price is calculated as net sales, after deducting sales discounts and rebates, divided by sales volume. The decrease in average selling price was mainly due to higher discounts to distributors and retail outlets and an unfavorable change in RMB to USD exchange rates.

 

The sales volume and average selling price exclude the amount of free products provided to customers, which is recorded as cost of sales in the corresponding period.

 

Our nutritional supplement segment mainly consists of external sales of chondroitin sulfate materials to international pharmaceutical companies. The decrease was primarily due to minor fluctuations in orders from major customers of this segment.

 

Other business mainly includes ancillary sales of excess or unusable ingredients and materials to industrial customers, such as whole milk powder and whey powder. Sales under this segment fluctuate from quarter to quarter.

 

 19 

 

Cost of Sales

 

Our cost of sales by reportable segments is shown in the table below:

 

   Three Months
Ended December 31,
     
(In thousands, except percentage data)  2016   2015  

%

Change 

 
Nutritional food  $57,605   $41,398    39%
Nutritional supplement   7,825    9,646    -19%
Other business   1,148    2,847    -60%
Cost of sales  $66,578   $53,891    24%

 

Cost of sales primarily include raw materials, labor, and allocated overhead. The increase in the cost of sales of the nutritional food segment was mainly due to the higher shipment volume and increased unit purchase cost of raw powder materials. Cost for the UHT products, which was launched in January 2016, also contributed the increase of the cost of sales.

 

The decrease in the cost of sales of the nutritional supplement segment was mainly due to the decreased sales volume of chondroitin sulfate.

 

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

 

   Three Months
Ended December 31,
     
(In thousands, except percentage data)  2016   2015  

Change

 
Nutritional food  $40,369   $54,860    -26%
Nutritional supplement   1,607    923    74%
Other business   499    (418)   * 
Gross profit  $42,475   $55,365    -23%
                
Nutritional food   41%   57%     
Nutritional supplement   17%   9%     
Other business   30%   -17%     
Gross margin   39%   51%     

 

*  Not meaningful

 

The decrease in the gross profit of nutritional food segment was mainly due to the decreased average selling price of powdered formula products. In order to stimulate the sales volume, we offered higher discounts to distributors and retail outlets, which lowered the average selling price of formula products. The decrease in the gross margin of nutritional food segment was mainly due to the decreased average selling price of powdered formula products, the increased unit purchase cost of raw powder materials, and the increased sales of Dutch Cow UHT liquid milk with lower margin, which was launched in January 2016. In addition, sales in this segment are generally denominated in RMB while costs in this segment follow global pricing in USD, and therefore, the depreciation of RMB to USD also had an adverse effect on the profitability of this segment.

 

The increase in the gross profit and the gross margin of the nutritional supplement segment was mainly due to the renegotiation of average selling price with major customers in 2016 and positive foreign exchange translation effect as the sales in this segment are generally denominated in USD while costs are mainly incurred in RMB.

 

 20 

  

Expenses

 

   Three Months
Ended December 31,
     
(In thousands, except percentage data)  2016   2015  

%

Change

 
Selling and distribution expenses  $15,898   $14,001    14%
Advertising and promotion expenses   12,156    12,835    -5%
- Advertising expenses   3,043    3,238    -6%
- Promotion expenses   9,113    9,597    -5%
General and administrative expenses   7,678    8,000    -4%
Government subsidies   146    105    39%

 

Selling and distribution expenses primarily include compensation expense for sales staff, freight charges and travel expenses. The increase in selling and distribution expenses was mainly due to the additional expenses incurred as we invited our staff and certain distributors to visit our French facility.

 

Advertising expenses primarily include media expenses paid to e-commerce providers. Promotion expenses primarily include promotional products provided to end customers and service charges for our consumer loyalty program administered by a third party. Advertising and promotion expenses decreased slightly in the three months ended December 31, 2016. 

 

General and administrative expenses primarily include salaries for staff and management, depreciation, office rental, office supplies and legal and consulting fees. General and administrative expenses decreased slightly in the three months ended December 31, 2016.

 

Government subsidies represent the receipt of general purpose subsidies from local governments.

 

 21 

 

Interest Expense and Interest Income

 

   Three Months
Ended December 31,
     
(In thousands, except percentage data)  2016   2015  

% 

Change 

 
Interest expense  $3,580   $4,117    -13%
Interest income   1,814    2,179    -17%

 

The decrease in interest expense was mainly due to decreased average interest rate as we borrow more EUR-denominated loans for the French project which charged lower interest rates, partially offset by increased loan balances. $1.3 million of interest expenses was capitalized for the French project in the three months ended December 31, 2016. In addition, interest rates on our RMB-denominated loans have decreased since mid-2015.

 

Interest income on restricted cash balance, which is mostly RMB, also declined compared to that of the corresponding period of the previous year.

 

Foreign Currency Exchange Gain (Loss), Net

 

Our sales and receivables are mostly denominated in RMB, while a substantial part of our raw material purchase and over half of our loans are denominated in EUR. In light of the changes in foreign exchange rates, since fiscal year 2017, we have gradually replaced our USD-denominated loans by EUR-denominated loans as we completed the construction of the French facility and began test operation at such facility in fiscal year 2017. As of December 31, 2016, 59% of our total loan balance was denominated in EUR and 5% in USD, compared to 31% of total loans in EUR and 23% in USD as of March 31, 2016. As such, we recorded a foreign currency exchange gain of $2.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared with a loss of $2.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2015, as RMB has begun to appreciate against EUR since March 2016 while it has depreciated against USD significantly since August 2015.

 

Net Income Attributable to Common Stockholders

 

As a result of the foregoing, net income attributable to common stockholders for the three months ended December 31, 2016 was $4.9 million, compared to $12.0 million for the same period in the previous year.

 

 22 

 

Nine Months Results of Operations

 

Below is a summary of selected comparative results of operations for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015:

 

   Nine Months Ended
December 31,
     
(In thousands, except per share data)  2016   2015  

% 

Change

 
Net sales  $269,622   $278,933    -3%
- Nutritional food segment   248,744    248,249    0.2%
Cost of sales   155,830    141,031    10%
- Nutritional food segment   135,794    111,997    21%
Gross profit   113,792    137,902    -17%
- Nutritional food segment   112,950    136,252    -17%
Gross Margin   42%   49%   -15%
- Nutritional food segment   45%   55%   -17%
Income from operations   18,926    46,018    -59%
Interest expense, net   4,856    5,782    -16%
Foreign currency exchange loss, net   (1,851)   (10,975)   83%
Income before income tax expense   11,928    28,662    -61%
Income tax expense   4,142    7,754    -47%
Net income   7,786    20,908    -66%
Net income attributable to common stockholders  $7,745   $20,140    -65%
Weighted average common stock outstanding – basic and diluted   56,691    57,163    -0.8%
Earnings per share – basic and diluted  $0.14   $0.35    -65%

 

 23 

 

Net Sales

 

Our net sales by reportable segments are shown in the table below:

 

   Nine Months Ended
December 31,
       % Change in 
(In thousands, except percentage data)  2016   2015  

%

Change

   Volume   Price 
Nutritional food  $248,744   $248,249    0.2%   3%   -3%
Nutritional supplement   14,963    26,684    -44%          
Other business   5,915    4,000    48%          
Net sales  $269,622   $278,933    -3%          

 

Net sales of our nutritional food segment include powdered formula products for infants, children and adults, prepared food for infants and children, and liquid milk. The minor increase in net sales of our nutritional food segment was mainly due to the increase in the combined effects of the following factors:

 

  The net sales of liquid milk increased to $19.0 million in the nine months ended December 31, 2016 from nil in the nine months ended December 31, 2015.

 

The sales volume of powdered formula products for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 was 20,058 tons, as compared to 19,383 tons for the same period in the previous year.

 

  The average selling price of powdered formula products under nutritional food segment for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 was $ 12,401 per ton, compared to $12,808 per ton for the same period in the previous year. Average selling price is calculated as net sales, after deducting sales discounts and rebates, divided by sales volume. The decrease in average selling price was mainly due to higher discounts to distributors and retail outlets and an unfavorable change in RMB to USD exchange rates.

 

The sales volume and average selling price exclude the amount of free products provided to customers, which is recorded as cost of sales in the corresponding period.

 

Our nutritional supplement segment mainly consists of external sales of chondroitin sulfate materials to international pharmaceutical companies. The decrease was primarily due to minor fluctuations in orders from major customers of this segment.

 

Other business mainly includes ancillary sales of excess or unusable ingredients and materials to industrial customers, such as whole milk powder and whey powder. Sales under this segment fluctuate from quarter to quarter.

 

 24 

 

Cost of Sales

 

Our cost of sales by reportable segments is shown in the table below:

 

   Nine Months
Ended December 31,
     
(In thousands, except percentage data)  2016   2015  

%

Change

 
Nutritional food  $135,794   $111,997    21%
Nutritional supplement   12,962    24,673    -47%
Other business   7,074    4,361    62%
Cost of sales  $155,830   $141,031    10%

 

Cost of sales primarily include raw materials, labor, and allocated overhead. The increase in the cost of sales of the nutritional food segment was mainly due to the higher sales volume and increased unit purchase cost of raw powder and whey powder. Cost for the UHT products, which was launched in January 2016, also contributed the increase of the cost of sales.

 

The decrease in the cost of sales of the nutritional supplement segment was mainly due to the decreased sales volume of chondroitin sulfate. 

 

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

 

   Nine Months Ended
December 31,
     
(In thousands, except percentage data)  2016   2015  

Change

 
Nutritional food  $112,950   $136,252    -17%
Nutritional supplement   2,001    2,011    -0.5%
Other business   (1,159)   (361)   * 
Gross profit  $113,792   $137,902    -17%
                
Nutritional food   45%   55%     
Nutritional supplement   13%   8%     
Other business   -20%   -9%     
Gross margin   42%   49%     

 

*  Not meaningful

 

The decrease in the gross profit of nutritional food segment was due to the material decrease of gross margin average selling price of powdered formula products. The decrease in the gross margin of nutritional food segment was mainly due to the decreased average selling price of powdered formula products, the increased unit purchase cost of raw powder materials, and the increased sales of Dutch Cow UHT liquid milk with lower margin, which was launched in January 2016. In addition, sales in this segment are generally denominated in RMB while costs in this segment follow global pricing in USD, and therefore, the depreciation of RMB to USD also had an adverse effect on the profitability of this segment.

 

The increase in the gross margin of the nutritional supplement segment was mainly due to the renegotiation of average selling price with major customers in 2016.

 

 25 

 

Expenses

 

   Nine Months
Ended December 31,
     
(In thousands, except percentage data)  2016   2015  

% 

Change

 
Selling and distribution expenses  $40,591   $40,569    0.1%
Advertising and promotion expenses   29,223    30,921    -5%
- Advertising expenses   7,306    8,301    -12%
- Promotion expenses   21,917    22,620    -3%
General and administrative expenses   22,622    20,701    9%
Loss on a supply contract   2,833    0    * 
Government subsidies   403    307    31%

 

*  Not meaningful

 

Selling and distribution expenses primarily include compensation expense for sales staff, freight charges and travel expenses. Our selling and distribution expenses remained stable mainly due to the combined effects of the additional expense incurred as we invited our staff and certain distributors to visit our French facility and a decrease in bonuses for sales staff.

 

Advertising expenses primarily include media expenses paid to e-commerce providers.  Promotion expenses primarily include promotional products provided to end customers, and service charges for our consumer loyalty program administered by a third party. Advertising and promotion expenses decreased slightly in the nine months ended December 31, 2016, primarily due to a decrease in advertising expenses as a result of the utilization of less expensive Internet channels for promotional activities and a change in our promotion budget management.

 

General and administrative expenses primarily include salaries for staff and management, depreciation, office rental, office supplies and legal and consulting fees. 

 

Loss on a supply contract mainly represents compensation to Sodiaal under our milk supply agreement, as we could not take full delivery of raw milk during the nine months ended December 31, 2016. For details, see “Item 1. Financial Statements — Note 10.”

 

Government subsidies represent the receipt of general purpose subsidies from local governments.

 

 26 

 

Interest Expense and Interest Income

 

   Nine Months
Ended December 31,
     
(In thousands, except percentage data)  2016   2015  

% 

Change 

 
Interest expense  $10,471   $12,495    -16%
Interest income   5,615    6,713    -16%

 

The decrease in interest expense was mainly due to decreased average interest rate as we borrow more EUR-denominated loans for the French project which charged lower interest rates, partially offset by increased loan balances. $4.0 million of interest expenses was capitalized for the French project in the nine months ended December 31, 2016. In addition, interest rates on our RMB-denominated loans have decreased since mid-2015.

 

Interest income on restricted cash balance, which is mostly RMB, also declined compared to that of the corresponding period of the previous year.

 

Foreign Currency Exchange Loss, Net 

 

Our sales and receivables are mostly denominated in RMB, while a substantial part of our raw material purchase and over half of our loans are denominated in EUR. In light of the changes in foreign exchange rates, since fiscal year 2017, we have gradually replaced our USD-denominated loans by EUR-denominated loans as we completed the construction of the French facility and began test operation at such facility in fiscal year 2017. As of December 31, 2016, 59% of our total loan balance was denominated in EUR and 5% in USD, compared to 31% of total loans in EUR and 23% in USD as of March 31, 2016. As such, we recorded a foreign currency exchange loss of $1.9 million and $11.0 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, as RMB has begun to appreciate against EUR since March 2016 while it has depreciated against USD significantly since August 2015.

 

Net Income Attributable to Common Stockholders

 

As a result of the foregoing, net income attributable to common stockholders for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 was $7.7 million, compared to $20.1 million for the same period in the previous year.

 

 27 

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Overview

 

Our primary sources of liquidity are cash on hand, cash from operations and available borrowings. Cash flows from operating activities mainly represent the inflow of cash from our customers and the outflow of cash for inventory purchases, manufacturing, operating expenses, interest and taxes. Cash flows used in investing activities primarily represent capital expenditures for equipment and buildings, and restricted cash used as security against letters of credit, bank acceptance bills and short-term and long-term borrowings. Cash flows from financing activities primarily represent proceeds and repayments of borrowings. In addition, while there can be no assurance that we will be able to refinance our short-term bank borrowings as they become due, historically, we have renewed or rolled over most of our bank loans after the maturity date of the loans and we believe we will continue to be able to do so.

 

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $51.4 million as of December 31, 2016, of which $49.3 million was held outside of the United States.

 

On September 17, 2012, the Company entered into a partnership framework agreement, a milk supply agreement, a whey supply agreement, a whey powder supply agreement, and a technical assistance agreement with Sodiaal Union, a French agricultural cooperative company (“Sodiaal”), and/or Euroserum SAS (“Euroserum”), a French subsidiary of Sodiaal, as the case may be, relating to a long-term industrial and commercial partnership between Sodiaal and the Company. Under these agreements, we undertake to build a new drying facility in Carhaix, France, for the manufacture of powdered milk and fat-enriched, or high oil, demineralized whey. We are committed to purchasing, and Sodiaal and Euroserum are committed to selling, 288 million liters of milk per year for ten years, an amount of whey equivalent to 24,000 tons of 70% demineralized pre-concentrated dry whey extract per year for ten years, and 6,000 tons of 70% demineralized whey powder per year, or an equivalent quantity of liquid whey, for ten years, at market based prices at the time of purchase, to satisfy the production needs of the new drying facility. If we purchase less than the agreed amount, we would compensate Sodiaal or Euroserum, as the case may be, for the loss suffered. We initially agreed to begin purchasing raw milk from Sodiaal in January 2016; however, the purchase plan has been delayed as the milk tower did not commence trial operation until June 2016. As required by the contract, we paid Sodiaal and third-party processors to process the raw milk into powder or other dairy products to fulfill our purchase obligations under the contract. Given that such payment was a result of our commitment to purchase rather than an expense required to test run the facility, rather than including this loss in our total project investment, we recorded a $8.8 million and $2.8 million loss related to this contract during the three months ended March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2016, respectively. Since June 2016, we have gradually increased the volume of raw milk we process in-house and by August 2016 when our second tower commenced trial operation, we were able to fulfill all of our purchase commitments. For details, see “Item 1. Financial Statements — Note 10.”

 

On September 18, 2015 and March 24, 2016, we entered into two purchase contracts under which we agreed to purchase UHT liquid milk from two suppliers in France, including one affiliate of Sodiaal, from calendar 2017 through calendar 2027. The minimum amount of liquid milk products we agreed to purchase is 85,500 tons in calendar 2017, and between 195,500 tons and 207,000 tons in calendar 2018 through calendar 2027. We expect to finance the purchases under these contracts with operating cash flow and trade financing arrangements, and sell the products in the Chinese market.

 

In March 2016, we entered into a five-year lease contract under which we agreed to lease UHT liquid milk equipment from a supplier in France, beginning from calendar 2017 to calendar 2018. The lease payment will be $3.7 million per year. We expect to finance the lease with operating cash flow.

 

On September 10, 2015, our board of directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of up to an aggregate amount of $20,000,000 of our common stock from time to time through September 10, 2016. Under this repurchase program, shares may be repurchased in privately negotiated and/or open market transactions, including under plans complying with Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act. Following the approval, we entered into a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan under the Exchange Act permitting open market repurchases of our common stock based on certain triggers described in the trading plan. During fiscal year 2016, we repurchased 610,313 shares of our common stock under the Rule 10b5-1 trading plan at an aggregate cost of $3.0 million which was paid for through cash on hand. The share repurchase program had automatically terminated due to our public announcement of receiving a non-binding proposal letter, dated January14, 2016, from Mr. Liang Zhang, our chairman and chief executive officer, and an affiliated entity of his, proposing a “going-private” transaction.

  

 28 

 

Cash Flows

 

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, certain information relating to our cash flows:

 

   Nine Months Ended December 31, 
(In thousands)  2016   2015 
Cash flow provided by/(used in):          
Operating activities          
Net income  $7,786   $20,908 
Depreciation and amortization   7,849    7,247 
Bad debt expense (reversal)   (538)   (1,367)
Inventory write down   8,029    5,491 
Deferred income tax   (849)   (214)
Loss on a supply contract   556    0 
Other   2    61 
Changes in assets and liabilities   (52,037)   142 
Total operating activities   (29,202)   32,268 
Investing activities   (54,741)   (114,703)
Financing activities   36,099    64,810 
Effect of foreign currency translation on cash and cash equivalents   (3,422)   (2,340)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents  $(51,266)  $(19,965)

 

Cash flow provided by operating activities in the nine months ended December 31, 2016 was a result of the net income of $7.8 million, as adjusted for non-cash expense and income items of $15.0 million, and an increase in working capital of $52.0 million. In the nine months ended December 31, 2016, we spent $263.6 million to purchase raw materials and other production materials, $34.3 million in staff compensation and social welfare, $33.0 million in taxes, $66.0 million in operating expenses, $10.0 million in interest, $1.3 million in land lease, received $376.3 million from our customers and $2.6 million from interest payments.

 

Cash flow used in investing activities in the nine months ended December 31, 2016 mainly represents $44.9 million payment for the purchase of property, plant and equipment, $12.7 million outflow for restricted cash deposited with banks as security against the issuance of letters of credit for the import of raw materials and as pledges for certain short-term and long-term borrowings, $3.1 million outflow for purchase of investment held at trust, and $0.4 million outflow for acquisition of intangible assets.

 

Cash flow provided by financing activities in the nine months ended December 31, 2016 mainly represents net cash inflow of $72.7 million from short-term loans and $1.2 million proceeds from noncontrolling interest related to Pingo (Beijing) Paper Co., Ltd., partially offset by net cash outflow of $37.4 million from long-term loans and $0.4 million payment for assets under capital leases. 

 

 29 

 

Outstanding Indebtedness

 

For information on our short-term and long-term borrowings, see “Item 1.  Financial Statements – Note 8.”

 

Capital Expenditures

 

Our capital expenditures were $38.7 million and the corresponding cash outflow was $44.9 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2016, which mainly represented expenditures for our drying facility project in France.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

We do not have off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to investors.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In November 2016, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-18 Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash. The amendments in this Update require that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. Therefore, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The amendments in this Update do not provide a definition of restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. The amendments in this Update are effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. If an entity early adopts the amendments in an interim period, any adjustments should be reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes that interim period. The amendments in this Update should be applied using a retrospective transition method to each period presented. We are evaluating the impact to our financial position and results of operations upon adoption. 

 

In January 2017, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2017-01 Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business. The amendments in this Update are intended to make the guidance on the definition of a business more consistent and cost-efficient. Specifically, the ASU: (1) provides a “screen” that requires a determination that a set is not a business when substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired (or disposed of) is concentrated in a single asset or group of similar identifiable assets; (2) specifies that if the screen’s threshold is not met, a set cannot be considered a business unless it includes an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create output; and (3) narrows the definition of the term “output” to be consistent with the description of outputs in ASC 606. Public business entities should apply the amendments in this Update to annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those periods. The amendments in this Update should be applied prospectively on or after the effective date. No disclosures are required at transition. We are evaluating the impact to our financial position and results of operations upon adoption.

 

 30 

 

ITEM 3.  QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

 

There is no material change in the information reported under Item 7A, “Foreign Exchange Risk ” “Inflation,” “Interest Rate Risk,” “Concentration of Credit Risk” and “Commodities Risk” contained in our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016.

 

ITEM 4.  CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

 

Conclusion Regarding Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report.

 

Based on such evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of December 31, 2016, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that the information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is (a) recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (b) accumulated and communicated to our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) in the three months ended December 31, 2016, which have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

 31 

 

PART II OTHER INFORMATION

 

ITEM 1.  LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

 

From time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. However, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these, or other matters, may arise from time to time that may harm our business. Set forth below are certain legal proceedings in relation to the going-private transaction. In the opinion of management, we do not believe current legal proceedings and claims would individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

 

Four purported stockholder class action complaints have been filed against the Company and certain officers and directors thereof in connection with the proposed transaction under that certain agreement and plan of merger, dated November 17, 2016, by and among the Company, Beams Power Investment Limited, and Beams Power Merger Sub Limited. The first, Rudy Murillo v. Synutra International, Inc., et al., Case No. 12990-VCL, was filed on December 15, 2016, in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, and was amended on January 5, 2017. The plaintiff in this action also filed a motion for expedited proceedings, but that motion was denied by the Court of Chancery on February 3, 2017. The second, Abraham Atachbarian Roth Ira v. Synutra International, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-01302-LPS, was filed on December 22, 2016, in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. The third, Robert Garfield v. Synutra International, Inc., et al., Case No. 428880-v, was filed on January 5, 2017, in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. The fourth, Arthur Flood v. Synutra International, Inc., et al., Case No. 2017-0032-JTL, was filed on January 17, 2017, in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware. These complaints challenge the proposed transaction and allege, among other things, that the individual defendants breached their fiduciary duties to the minority stockholders by approving the proposed transaction following an inadequate process and failing to disclose material information in connection with the proposed transaction. The complaints seek, among other relief, to enjoin defendants from consummating the proposed transaction. We have reviewed the allegations contained in the complaints, believe they are without merit and intend to defend these actions vigorously.

 

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

 

For information regarding the risks and uncertainties affecting our business, please refer to “Part I, Item 1A Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. There have been no material changes to these risks and uncertainties during the three months ended December 31, 2016.

 

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

 

None.

 

 32 

 

ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES

 

None.

 

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

 

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION

 

None.

 

ITEM 6.  EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit

Number

  Description
     
2.1   Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated November 17, 2016, by and among the Company, Beams Power Investment Limited and Beams Power Merger Sub Limited (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to Form 8-K filed by the Company on November 17, 2016)
     
10.1   Limited Guarantee, dated as of November 17, 2016, by and among the Company, Liang Zhang and Xiuqing Meng (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Form 8-K filed by the Company on November 17, 2016)
     
31.1   Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a), promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
     
31.2   Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a), promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
     
32.1   Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Chief Executive Officer)
     
32.2   Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Chief Financial Officer)
     
101   Interactive data files pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T: (i) the Consolidated Balance Sheets—December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2016, (ii) the Consolidated Statements of Operations—Three and Nine Months Ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, (iii) the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income(Loss)—Three and Nine Months Ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, (iv) the Consolidated Statements of Equity—Nine Months Ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, (v) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows—Nine Months Ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, and (vi) Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

    

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

  SYNUTRA INTERNATIONAL, INC.
       
Date: February 9, 2017 By: /s/ Liang Zhang
    Name: Liang Zhang
    Title: Chief Executive Officer and Chairman

 

  By: /s/ Ning Cai
    Name: Ning Cai
    Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

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