American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD), today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.
Financial Highlights Fiscal 2015 First Quarter – versus Fiscal 2014 First Quarter
• net sales of $66.6 million, compared with $81.1 million.
• net income of $0.05 million, compared with $2.2 million.
• earnings per diluted share of $0.00, compared with $0.07.
Note: Further details are available in the financial schedules attached to this press release
Eric Wintemute, Chairman & CEO of American Vanguard commented: “While net sales declined during the period, largely due to soft conditions in the corn market and lower international sales, we achieved a breakeven earnings result in the quarter through assertive management of our costs. With reduced inventory levels in the distribution channel and a just-in-time procurement approach by growers and retailers, we stand ready to meet our customers’ needs as the 2015 corn season continues to unfold.”
Mr. Wintemute continued: “In the near and mid-term, however, we are looking to other crops and regions for the bulk of our business. As reported yesterday, we have just completed the second of two acquisitions that will help to expand our international business – the Nemacur® product line from Adama which we reported on April 6th and now the Bromacil® product line from DuPont. We believe that these acquisitions will expand our annual international sales by over 25% and give us an increased presence in Europe, Asia and LATAM. Also, in connection with the Bromacil acquisition, we entered into an amendment to our senior credit facility with our senior lenders, led by Bank of the West, with whom we have maintained an excellent relationship for over 30 years. Further details on the amendment will be in our public filings.
“During the balance of this year, our performance will be defined by sales into not only corn, but also potatoes, cotton, peanuts, vegetables, and non-crop markets, such as public health. There are many factors affecting the strength of these non-corn markets, including, for example, pest pressure in crops and storm activity in the Southeast. However, on the whole, these markets have been relatively stable. While addressing markets both at home and abroad, we will continue to work at improving manufacturing efficiency, and, during 2015 we expect that our unabsorbed factory overhead costs will be up to 25% below those of 2014.”
Mr. Wintemute concluded: “Looking forward, we are placing a renewed emphasis on innovative technology. We are presently collaborating on three separate fronts: to obtain new active ingredients; to expand market access of our natural oil product line; and to acquire license rights to biological and other crop protection products. These efforts should provide AMVAC with a pipeline of new products and enable us to diversify our portfolio further. We will be reporting on these initiatives over the next several quarters and look forward to giving you more detail regarding first quarter results in our upcoming conference call.”
Conference Call
Eric Wintemute, Chairman & CEO, Bob Trogele EVP & COO and David T. Johnson, VP & CFO, will conduct a conference call focusing on the financial results at 4:30 pm ET / 1:30 pm PT on Thursday, April 30, 2015. Interested parties may participate in the call by dialing (201) 493-6744 – please dial in 10 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin, and ask for the American Vanguard call. The conference call will also be webcast live via the News and Media section of the Company’s web site at www.american-vanguard.com. To listen to the live webcast, go to the web site at least 15 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. If you are unable to listen live, the conference call will be archived on the Company’s web site.
About American Vanguard
American Vanguard Corporation is a diversified specialty and agricultural products company that develops and markets products for crop protection and management, turf and ornamentals management and public and animal health. American Vanguard is included on the Russell 2000® and Russell 3000® Indexes and the Standard & Poor’s Small Cap 600 Index. To learn more about American Vanguard, please reference the Company’s web site at www.american-vanguard.com.
The Company, from time to time, may discuss forward-looking information. Except for the historical information contained in this release, all forward-looking statements are estimates by the Company’s management and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ from management’s current expectations. Such factors include weather conditions, changes in regulatory policy and other risks as detailed from time-to-time in the Company’s SEC reports and filings. All forward-looking statements, if any, in this release represent the Company’s judgment as of the date of this release.
Contact Information
American Vanguard Corporation
William A. Kuser, Director of Investor Relations
(949) 260-1200
williamk@amvac-chemical.com
The Equity Group Inc.
Lena Cati
(212) 836-9611
Lcati@equityny.com
www.theequitygroup.com