Synutra International, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYUT)

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., May 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, distribute and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced the completion of the merger (the "Merger") contemplated by the previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of November 17, 2016 (the "Merger Agreement"), by and among Beams Power Investment Limited ("Parent"), Beams Power Merger Sub Limited (the "Merger Sub") and the Company. As a result of the Merger, the Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent.

Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, which was approved by the Company's stockholders at a special meeting held on April 28, 2017, each share of Company common stock has been cancelled and converted into the right to receive $6.05 in cash, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes (the "Merger Consideration"), except for (a) shares of common stock held by (i) any of Parent, Merger Sub and any other direct or indirect subsidiary of Parent and (ii) the Company, all of which have been cancelled and ceased to exist without the right to receive any payment or distribution thereon, and (b) shares of common stock owned by stockholders who have properly validly perfected and have not effectively withdrawn or lost their appraisal rights pursuant to Section 262 of the Delaware General Corporation Law ("DGCL"), which shares of common stock have been cancelled for the right to receive the fair value of such shares as determined in accordance with the provisions of the DGCL.

Stockholders of record as of the effective time of the Merger who are entitled to the Merger Consideration will receive a letter of transmittal and instructions on how to surrender their share certificates in exchange for the merger consideration. Stockholders should wait to receive the letter of transmittal before surrendering their share certificates.

Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc. is serving as the financial advisor to the Special Committee of the Company's Board of Directors (the "Special Committee"), Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is serving as U.S. legal counsel to the Special Committee, and Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP is serving as Delaware legal counsel to the Special Committee. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation is serving as U.S. and Delaware legal counsel to the Company. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is serving as U.S. legal counsel to the buyer group.

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., May 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, distribute and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced the completion of the merger (the "Merger") contemplated by the previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of November 17, 2016 (the "Merger Agreement"), by and among Beams Power Investment Limited ("Parent"), Beams Power Merger Sub Limited (the "Merger Sub") and the Company. As a result of the Merger, the Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent.

Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, which was approved by the Company's stockholders at a special meeting held on April 28, 2017, each share of Company common stock has been cancelled and converted into the right to receive $6.05 in cash, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes (the "Merger Consideration"), except for (a) shares of common stock held by (i) any of Parent, Merger Sub and any other direct or indirect subsidiary of Parent and (ii) the Company, all of which have been cancelled and ceased to exist without the right to receive any payment or distribution thereon, and (b) shares of common stock owned by stockholders who have properly validly perfected and have not effectively withdrawn or lost their appraisal rights pursuant to Section 262 of the Delaware General Corporation Law ("DGCL"), which shares of common stock have been cancelled for the right to receive the fair value of such shares as determined in accordance with the provisions of the DGCL.

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., April 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, distribute and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced that at its special meeting of stockholders held earlier today, the Company's stockholders voted, among other things, in favor of the proposal to adopt the previously announced agreement and plan of merger (the "Merger Agreement"), dated as of November 17, 2016, by and among the Company, Beams Power Investment Limited, a company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands ("Parent"), and Beams Power Merger Sub Limited, a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent ("Merger Sub"), providing for the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company, with the Company surviving the merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent. Approximately 85.3% of the shares outstanding were voted in favor of the proposal to adopt the Merger Agreement. Specifically, approximately 59.7% of the shares of common stock outstanding held by unaffiliated stockholders voted in favor of the proposal to adopt the Merger Agreement, satisfying the "majority of the minority" voting requirement set forth in the Merger Agreement.

The parties currently expect to complete the merger in May 2017, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement. If completed, the proposed merger would result in the Company becoming a privately held company and its common stock would no longer be listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2017 Financial Results

• Net sales were $109.1 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2017, a slight decrease of 0.2% from $109.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2016.
• Net income was $5.1 million, compared to $12.3 million in the prior year period. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $4.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017, or $0.09 per basic share, compared to $12.0 million, or $0.21 per basic share, in the prior year perio

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "Despite the intensified competition in the Chinese infant milk formula industry, we were able to maintain our net sales at a consistent level year-over-year with a 1.8% increase in sales of our core Nutritional Food segment. We are pleased to see ongoing strong sales momentum for our ultra-high temperature ("UHT") liquid milk product that we launched under the 'Dutchcow' brand in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. We were actively involved in both online and offline sales activities, and were pleased that our sales of UHT liquid milk more than tripled in the December quarter when compared to the previous quarter. We believe this product is on its way to becoming a staple in the liquid milk market segment."

Mr. Zhang continued, "In the December quarter, we experienced further market consolidation after new infant formula production regulation was announced by the Chinese government in June 2016. As a result, mom and baby stores are adjusting their business strategies and are realigning brands they carry in the store, reducing inventories of smaller brands, to make room for larger brands. While we believe this regulation is beneficial for the broader industry and larger players including Synutra over time, in the short term, the industry is undergoing an increase in promotional discounts. To capitalize on our opportunities ahead, we have been focused on establishing healthy and long-term relationships with our distributors and retail outlets by leveraging our unique knowledge and experience in professional nutrition training, education and consulting. Additionally, the adjustments at our French facility were completed at the end of December 2016 and we converted our French facility from construction in progress to fixed asset on December 31, 2016. We remain confident our made-in-France products will allow Synutra to better capitalize on the consolidation opportunities under the new government regulation."

Fiscal 2017 Financial Outlook

Prior fiscal 2017 guidance was based on the expectation that the Company's French project would commence formal operations with stable production in December 2016. Given the impact associated with additional French project production delays, the Company expects to generate lower sales from bulk milk and whey protein powder from the French facility this year, and expects that the French facility will report a net loss for the fourth quarter as we start to include its profitability to our overall income statement starting from January 1, 2017. The Company is therefore adjusting its fiscal 2017 sales outlook from previously announced $400 to $450 million to total net sales of between $350 to $400 million and the fiscal 2017 net income outlook from the previously announced $10 to $15 million to net income of between $0 to $5 million. The Company has not factored in additional foreign exchange impact into its fiscal 2017 forecast, aside from its fiscal nine months results. Synutra remains highly optimistic about its growth potential as its made-in-France products become widely available for retail sales in the China market.

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, distribute and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced it has entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with Beams Power Investment Limited, a company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands ("Parent"), and Beams Power Merger Sub Limited, a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent ("Merger Sub"), pursuant to which Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the "Merger"). Parent currently beneficially owns approximately 63.5% of the Company's outstanding shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the "Company Common Stock"). Ms. Xiuqing Meng, spouse of Mr. Liang Zhang, is the sole shareholder of Parent. Mr. Liang Zhang is the chairman and chief executive officer of the Company.

Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger, each share of Company Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to such effective time (other than (i) the shares held by (a) Parent, Merger Sub and any other direct or indirect subsidiary of Parent and (b) the Company and (ii) the shares in respect of which appraisal rights have been properly and validly exercised under Delaware law) will be automatically canceled and converted into the right to receive $6.05 in cash (the "Merger Consideration"), without interest. The Merger Consideration represents a 58% premium over the closing price of the Company Common Stock as quoted by NASDAQ Global Select Market (the "NASDAQ") on January 14, 2016, and a premium of 31% and 20%, respectively, over the Company's 30- and 60-trading day volume-weighted average price as quoted by the NASDAQ prior to January 14, 2016, the last trading day prior to the Company's announcement on January 15, 2016 that it had received a non-binding "going private" proposal.

Parent has secured a committed loan facility from Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co., Ltd. to finance the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Merger.

The Company's board of directors, acting upon the unanimous recommendation of the special committee formed by the board of directors (the "Special Committee"), unanimously approved the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Merger, and resolved to recommend that the Company's stockholders adopt the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Merger. The Special Committee, which is composed solely of independent directors of the Company who are unaffiliated with Parent, Merger Sub or management of the Company, exclusively negotiated the terms of the Merger Agreement with the buyer group consisting of Mr. Liang Zhang, Ms. Xiuqing Meng, Parent and Merger Sub, with the assistance of its independent financial and legal advisors.

The Merger is subject to stockholder approval as well as certain other customary closing conditions. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, adoption of the Merger Agreement by the Company's stockholders requires the affirmative vote of (i) the holders of at least a majority of the Company Common Stock and (ii) the holders of at least a majority of the Company Common Stock other than the shares of Company Common Stock held by (a) Parent, Merger Sub and any other direct or indirect subsidiary of Parent and (b) the Company. The Company will call a meeting of stockholders for the purpose of voting on the adoption of the Merger Agreement as soon as practicable. If completed, the Merger will, under laws of the State of Delaware, result in the Company becoming a privately-held company and the Company Common Stock would no longer be listed on the NASDAQ.

Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results

• Net sales were $82.7 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2017, a decrease of 5.3% from $87.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2016.
• Net income was $2.8 million, compared to $0.6 million in the prior year period. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $2.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017, or $0.05 per basic share, compared to $0.5 million, or $0.01 per basic share, in the prior year period.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "Our sales in second quarter of fiscal 2017 decreased 5% from the prior year period due to delays at our French project, as distributors reduced order volumes for our domestically produced infant formula products to await delivery of our 100% French-produced infant formula. Despite this challenge in supply chain management, we are glad to see strong positive market acceptance of our 'made in France' products, particularly our Super brand series. In addition, we have observed some initial signs of market consolidation after the new infant formula production regulation was announced by the Chinese government in June 2016, and believe that such acceptance also indicates an increased willingness of distributors and mom-and-baby stores to shift more sales to larger manufacturers and brands which can more easily adhere to the new regulations."

Mr. Zhang continued, "In September, we held a grand opening ceremony for the official opening of our French facility. We have received all required production licenses as well as import accreditations by China's Certification and Accreditation Administration for infant formula and general dairy products and now expect our French facility to produce a steady volume of qualified power and infant formula products in the third quarter of fiscal 2017. We remain confident that the premium products produced and imported from our French facility will enable Synutra to capitalize on consolidation opportunities and expanding our market share under new government regulations."

Fiscal 2017 Financial Outlook

Prior fiscal 2017 guidance was based on the expectation that the Company's French project would commence formal operations with stable production in September 2016. Given the impact associated with additional French project production delays, the Company expects to generate lower sales from bulk milk and whey protein powder from the French facility this year, and is therefore adjusting its fiscal 2017 sales outlook from the previously announced $450 to $500 million to total net sales of between $400 and $450 million. However, since the bulk powder sales are generally only marginally profitable, and given the strong acceptance to the Company's made-in-France products, it still expects to generate net profit of between $10 and $15 million. This outlook is based on the current expectation that the French facility will start to supply both infant formula products and bulk powder products in regular volumes in November, thereby catching the high order season of Chinese New Year, and that there is no further material depreciation of the RMB to the US dollar. Any further delays at the French facility or any material fluctuations to this exchange rate could further impact the Company's fiscal 2017 forecast. Synutra remains highly optimistic about its growth potential as its made-in-France products become widely available for retail sales in the China market.

Fourth Quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Net sales were $86.1 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, a decrease of 21.8% from $110.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015.
• Net income was $53,000, compared to net income of $24.3 million in the prior year period. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $96,000 in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016, or near zero per basic share, compared to $24.1 million, or $0.42 per basic share, in the prior year period.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "Our fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 results continued to reflect several business headwinds in our Nutritional Food segment, including a competitive environment, lower birth rates during the Year of the Sheep, an uncertain regulatory environment and unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates. We have also experienced some challenges with our Nutritional Supplement segment.  For our French project, the equipment adjustment of our two drying towers took longer than expected, and we now expect the French project to be fully operational in July 2016 and expect start importing our 100% French-produced infant formula into the Chinese market in the second quarter of fiscal 2017.  Due to the delay in our ability to start purchasing milk from Sodiaal, we also incurred a one-time $8.8 million loss under our long-term purchase agreement with Sodiaal."

Mr. Zhang continued, "During the March quarter, we remained committed to developing our Offline-to-Online membership service program. We now have approximately 10,000 part-time promoters servicing customers on our public WeChat account Thumb Mama. We are also excited to see the continuous expansion of our WeChat-based Thumb Mall e-commerce platform.  We have also introduced ultra-high temperature liquid milk products under our Dutch Cow brand in January 2016, and have seen the monthly sales for this product double each month through May 2016.  In the long-term, we expect to capitalize on industry consolidation as a leading IMF producer in China, particularly as we begin to import premium products from our French facility in the next two quarters."

Fiscal 2017 Financial Outlook

The Company expects total net sales for fiscal year 2017 to be between $500 and $550 million, and net income to be between $25 and $30 million. The increase in sales will be driven by the expected increase in the sales of powdered formula products, the increase in the sales of liquid milk as this product continue to be launched, and the increase in the sales of bulk milk powder and bulk whey protein powder, as the Company's French project is expected to begin operations in July 2016 and produce bulk powder. Net income growth for fiscal 2017 is expected to be limited as sales increases are expected to be more weighted towards lower margin liquid milk and bulk powder and the Company expects greater depreciation and interest expenses due to the commencement of operations at its new French facility. The Company has not factored in one-time expenses or foreign exchange impact into its fiscal 2017 forecast.   

Third Quarter Fiscal 2016 Financial Results

• Net sales were $109.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2016, a decrease of 5.3% from $115.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2015.
• Net income was $12.3 million, compared to net income of $17.9 million in the prior year period. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $12.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2016, or $0.21 per basic share, compared to $17.3 million, or $0.30 per basic share, in the prior year period.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "Our third quarter of fiscal 2016 results continued to reflect impacts from the competitive promotional environment and unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates. However, we were still able to achieve meaningful growth in margin expansion this quarter due to lower raw material costs and our ongoing effective controls over discounts and expenses. Our progress in the strategic online-to-offline ThumbMama platform contributed to our performance in the December quarter, as the number of active part-time promoters on our WeChat-based ThumbMama online social network platform surpassed our number of full-time in-store promoters, and the sales from the ThumbMall online channel, which is linked to the ThumbMama platform, continued to grow quickly as a percentage of total sales."

Mr. Zhang continued, "We have experienced some delays in the development of our French project related to the two spray drying towers, and we started the trial operations of the mixing and canning facility in January 2016 with formal production of the entire project now expected to be on or before April 1, 2016. We expect to import canned products into China with all required licenses in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. Our total budget for the French project is expected to increase marginally due to additional staffing and raw material procurement costs caused by the delay. Going forward, we remain committed to our sustained pricing strategy, maximizing operational efficiency and further developing brand equity and customer loyalty. We also intend to capitalize on industry consolidation to establish Synutra as a leading IMF producer in China, particularly as we import premium products from our French facility in the future."

Fiscal 2016 Financial Outlook

As disclosed in the previous quarter, the Company believes that the previously announced revenue and net income forecast for fiscal 2016 will be difficult to achieve, mainly due to expected lower sales in the Nutritional Food segment and the foreign exchange loss impacting the business in the current fiscal year. The Company now expects total net sales for fiscal year 2016 to be between $375 and $400 million, and net income to be between $30 and 35 million. The Company remains optimistic about its prospects for continued strong growth above the industry average for fiscal 2017 and beyond, once its French facility is fully operational.

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (SYUT) ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, distribute and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced that the special committee of its board of directors (the "Board"), which is composed entirely of independent directors (the "Special Committee"), has retained Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc. as the Special Committee's independent financial advisor and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP as its U.S. legal counsel in connection with its review and evaluation of the non-binding proposal letter dated January 14, 2016, as revised on January 30, 2016, from Mr. Liang Zhang, the chairman of the Board and chief executive officer of Synutra ("Mr. Zhang"), and an affiliated entity of Mr. Zhang (together with Mr. Zhang, the "Buyer Group"), to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of the Company not already owned by the Buyer Group in a "going-private" transaction (the "Proposal"). In addition, the Company has retained Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as its U.S. legal counsel in connection with the potential "going-private" transaction contemplated by the Proposal.

The Special Committee is evaluating and considering the Proposal. The Special Committee cautions the Company's shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that no decision has been made by the Special Committee with respect to the Company's response to the Proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law.

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, distribute and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced that its board of directors (the "Board") has received a non-binding proposal letter, dated January 14, 2016, from Mr. Liang Zhang ("Mr. Zhang"), Chairman and chief executive officer of Synutra, and an affiliated entity of his (together with Mr. Zhang, the "Buyer Group"), proposing a "going-private" transaction (the "Transaction") to acquire all of the outstanding common stock (the "Shares") of the Company not already owned by the Buyer Group for US$5.91 in cash per Share, subject to certain conditions, which represents a premium of approximately 63% to the closing price of the Company's Shares on January 13, 2016, and a premium of approximately 30% to the volume-weighted average closing price of the Company's Shares during the last 20 trading days.

According to the proposal letter, the Buyer Group intends to fund the consideration payable in the Transaction with a combination of equity capital and third party debt, and rollover equity in the Company. A copy of the proposal letter is attached as Annex A to this press release.

The Board intends to form a special committee consisting of independent directors to consider this proposal.

The Board cautions the Company's shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that the Board just received the non-binding proposal letter from the Buyer Group and no decisions have been made with respect to the Company's response to the Transaction. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law

Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results

Net sales were $87.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2016, a decrease of 14.8% from $102.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2015

Net income attributable common stockholders was $8.1 million for the first half of fiscal 2016, or $0.14 per basic share, compared to $28.2 million, or $0.49 per basic share, in the prior year period.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "Our sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2016 decreased 15% from the prior year period as we as we faced intensified competitive pressure from steep discounting by our peers in the infant milk formula market, as well as several setbacks related to our niche products in the private label, specialty IMF and adult formula categories. Despite these challenging market conditions, we believe our service and quality differentiation strategy will prove successful, and we are well-positioned to benefit from larger trends in the milk formula industry over the long-term. We remain committed to our established pricing strategy and continue to build out our strategic online-to-offline ThumbMama platform, allowing us to directly reach and build relationships with consumers."

Mr. Zhang continued, "Our French facility is moving ahead on schedule and on budget. We began trial operations of the drying towers in September and we expect to able to begin commercial production of whole milk powder, whey protein powder and canned formula products in the first quarter of calendar 2016. The production method used in our French facility will allow us to streamline our manufacturing processes and reduce costs. We expect to be fully-licensed and ready to import canned products into China in the first half of calendar 2016. We remained focused on maximizing our operational efficiency while we also further develop our brand equity and customer loyalty, such that Synutra is positioned to take full advantage of further industry consolidation trends and the relaxation of China's one-child policy in the months and years to come."

Fiscal 2016 Financial Outlook

Based on current market conditions and visibility into the second half of the year, the Company believes that its previously announced revenue and net income forecast for fiscal 2016 will be difficult to achieve, due to expected lower sales in the Nutritional Food segment, the $8.9 million foreign exchange loss in the second quarter, and higher-than-expected discount and promotional expense ratios. However, the Company remains optimistic about its prospects for continued strong growth above the industry average for fiscal 2017 and beyond, once its French facility is fully operational. The Company plans to update its financial forecast for fiscal 2016 when it releases results for the third fiscal quarter.

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., September 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, distribute and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced that its board of directors has approved a share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to $20 million of shares of the Company's common stock over the next 12 months.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "This share repurchase program demonstrates the confidence we have in Synutra and its growth prospects. We believe that purchasing our stock will be a very prudent use of our funds and is consistent with management's goal of increasing shareholder value."

Under the program, Synutra may repurchase shares from time to time in open market transactions. The timing and amount of repurchase transactions will be determined by the Company's management based on its evaluation of market conditions, share price, legal requirements and other factors. Synutra expects to implement this share repurchase program in a manner consistent with market conditions and the interests of the Company's shareholders. The program may be suspended or discontinued at any time. Synutra plans to fund repurchases made under this program from its available cash balance.

Item 7.01    Regulation FD Disclosure.

On September 10, 2015, the registrant’s Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program effective on September 11, 2015, authorizing, but not obligating, the repurchase of up to an aggregate amount of $20,000,000 of its common stock from time to time through September 10, 2016. The registrant expects to acquire shares primarily through open market transactions, subject to market conditions and other factors and may enter into a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan to facilitate open market repurchases.

• Net sales were $115.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2015, an increase of 14.2% from $101.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014.
• Net income increased 84.1% to $17.9 million from $9.7 million. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $17.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2015, or $0.30 per basic share, a 72.9% increase from net income of $10.0 million, or $0.17 per basic share, in the prior year period.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "We are happy to report very strong results for the third quarter of fiscal 2015. We saw a 24% increase in sales in our powdered formula segment and an 84% increase in net income year-over-year. While competition in the Chinese infant formula market increased, our results this quarter reflect our ability to maintain sales growth through a strategic product offering, including premium and niche products, and drive profitability through operational efficiency. We intend to expand these initiatives as we strategically position Synutra to achieve sustainable growth in the coming quarters and years."

• Net sales were $102.5 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2015, an increase of 15.7% from $88.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014. 
• Income from operations was $13.6 million, an increase of 53.2% over the prior year period. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $10.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2015, or $0.18 per basic share, a 68.6% increase from net income of $6.1 million, or $0.11 per basic share, in the prior year period.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "We are very pleased with our results in the second quarter. Despite continued pricing competition from our peers, we saw a 45.8% increase year-over-year in volume sold, as well as a 29.5% increase in revenue over the same period last year in the powdered formula segment. During the second quarter, we continued to develop our strategic branding initiatives by further expanding our 'Kangaroo' personal service program and offering personalized nutritional consulting to our customers."

"In September and October, we launched four new high-margin, premium products to complement our current, core line of products and take advantage of the expanding market for high-end formula in China. Our new products have already been well received by distributors. We expect to continue to build on this momentum through the second half of our fiscal year," concluded Mr. Zhang.

Fiscal 2015 Financial Outlook

The Company continues to expect strong top line growth and greater operating leverage in fiscal 2015, with full year infant formula segment sales expected to grow by at least 20% over fiscal 2014 results. This growth is expected to be primarily driven by increased sales volume while ASP remains largely unchanged.  Assuming the same sales ratio as fiscal 2014 for all product segments, total revenue growth is also expected to be at least 20% over last year, or between $450 and $500 million. Synutra has raised its net income guidance for fiscal 2015 from $50-60 million to $55-65 million. This represents bottom line growth of at least 75% over fiscal 2014.

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, distribute and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced unaudited preliminary second quarter 2015 results and raised full year 2015 guidance.

For the second quarter ended September 30, 2014, the Company anticipates revenue in the range of $106-110 million, representing year-over-year revenue growth of at least 20%. Net income attributable to common stockholders is expected to be in the range of $9-10 million, compared to $6.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, representing year-over-year growth of at least 50%. These positive results were due to increased IMF sales at the distributor and retail channels.

Based on its strong preliminary second quarter and first half fiscal 2015 results, the Company now maintains its forecasted revenue range of $450-500 million, while raising its fiscal 2015 net income guidance from a range of $50-60 million to $55-65 million.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra said, "We are pleased to see continued strong demand for our core formula brands. In the second fiscal quarter, we experienced sequential and year-over-year increases in both revenue and net profit, despite significant market competition.  Our success this quarter was primarily due to increased shipment volumes in a traditionally slow season as a result of our increased strategic marketing efforts.  We expect this momentum to continue in the coming quarters, resulting in strong top line growth and greater operating leverage in fiscal 2015."

Synutra plans to release its second quarter financial results in early November.

First Quarter Fiscal 2015 Financial Results

• Net sales were $86.0 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2015, an increase of 4.6% from $82.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014.
• Net income attributable to common stockholders was $17.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015, or $0.31 per basic share, a 275.7% increase from net income of $4.8 million, or $0.08 per basic share, in the prior year period.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "We were pleased with our fiscal first quarter results. Despite intense market competition, a temporary disruption of operations due to the renewal of our production license and updates in our product packaging during the quarter, we achieved 21% year over year increase in revenue in our core, powdered formula segment. While our sales volume was down slightly, we focused on efficiency in our selling and promotion activities and effectively controlled the discounts we offered, which helped keep firm our average selling price. We have also successfully disposed of our Zhangjiakou subsidiary and recognized an after tax gain of $11.9 million. EPS grew 276% year-over-year to $0.31."

"We continue to invest in strategic marketing programs to connect with our end customers and build brand loyalty. As industry dynamics shift, we remain focused on producing quality products that meet our customers' needs," concluded Mr. Zhang.

Fiscal 2015 Financial Outlook

The Company continues to expect strong top line growth and greater operating leverage in fiscal 2015, with full year revenue growth expected to be at least 20% over fiscal 2014 results, or between $450 to $500 million, and net profit growth expected to be at least 60%, or between $50 to 60 million.

Fourth Quarter 2014 Financial Results

• Net sales were $98.7 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, an increase of 36% from $72.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
• Net income attributable to common stockholders was $10.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014, or $0.18 per basic share, a 209% increase from net income of $3.3 million, or $0.06 per basic share, in the prior year period.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "Overall we were pleased with our fourth quarter results and our full year financial performance. Throughout the year we experienced strong top-line growth and continuously improved the efficiency of our marketing, sales and distribution activities."

"Our 2014 fiscal year was marked by changes in the competitive landscape of China's infant formula market with the government's growing focus on food safety regulations. In recent months, both of our milk formula production facilities successfully renewed their production licenses, while almost one third of manufacturers in China were not able to do so. As a result, we were able to expand our network through strategic acquisitions of two new milk formula brands, each with strong sales and distribution networks in their respective regions. To further take advantage of opportunities within this changing space, we are expanding the scope of our new drying facility project in France to include IMF production as well. This will allow us to capture a premium on a 'wholly imported' product. We anticipate our new facility in France to commence operation by the end of CY2015. Additionally, we have negotiated the sale of our Zhangjiakou manufacturing facility. Once the French manufacturing facility is operational, we will no longer need the Zhangjiakou processing capacity. Under the sales arrangement, however, we can continue to utilize the Zhangjiakou capacity on an OEM basis for the next two years until the French project can fully take over. With this strategic arrangement, we are able to take advantage of an attractive purchase price and mitigate our risk of redundant capacity in the future."

"As we look forward to FY2015, we expect to see continued sales growth across our product categories and distribution channels. We will continue to emphasize strategic marketing initiatives to increase consumer interaction with our brands and drive overall market penetration," concluded Mr. Zhang.

Fiscal 2015 Financial Outlook

The Company expects strong top line growth and greater operating leverage in fiscal 2015, with full year revenue growth expected to be at least 20% over fiscal 2014 results, or between $450 to $500 million, and net profit growth expected to be at least 60%, or between $50 to 60 million.

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, distribute and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced unaudited preliminary fourth quarter and full year 2014 results.

For the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2014, the Company anticipates revenue of approximately $99.5 million, including $89.1 million from the formula segment, and net income in the range of $10-11 million. This equates to full year 2014 revenue and net income of approximately $371 million and $30-$32 million, respectively.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra said, "Our business momentum continued to improve in our fiscal fourth quarter with sequential increases in both formula segment revenue and net profit. Our success in the fourth quarter was due to increased shipment volumes driven by the spring holiday season as well as our increased marketing efforts. Our fourth quarter profit improved over the previous quarter as we drove greater efficiency in our sales & promotion structure. We expect continued strong top line growth and greater operating leverage in fiscal 2015, with full year revenue growth expected to be at least 20% over fiscal 2014 results, or between $450 to $500 million, and net profit growth expected to be at least 60%, or between $50 to 60 million."

Synutra plans to report its fourth quarter and full year 2014 results and provide greater visibility to its FY15 growth expectations in mid-June. The estimates presented in this press release are preliminary, unaudited and subject to further adjustments.

Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
 
Beams Power Investment Limited (“Beams”), a British Virgin Islands limited liability company and a majority stockholder of Synutra International, Inc. (the “Company”), entered into a two-year facility agreement, as borrower therein, with Nomura Singapore Limited as mandated lead arranger, Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong Branch as facility agent (the “Facility Agent”), DB Trustees (Hong Kong) Limited as international security agent (the “International Security Agent”), Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas as New York security agent (the “New York Security Agent”) and the Original Lender(s) as defined therein (the “Facility Agreement”), for credit in an aggregate amount of fifty-five million dollars (US$55,000,000). The Facility Agreement is secured by 36,000,000 shares of common stock (as adjusted pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Facility Agreement, the “Pledged Shares”), par value US$0.0001 per share, of the Company held by Beams.
 
In connection with Beams’ pledging of the Pledged Shares and entering into the Facility Agreement, the Company entered into a registration rights agreement with the Facility Agent and Beams (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) on March 3, 2014, pursuant to which the Company agreed, (i) as soon as practicable after an event of default under the Facility Agreement has occurred and is continuing or the New York Security Agent has become the owner of the shares in accordance with the terms of the Pledge Agreement, to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement for the resale of the shares and the Pledged Shares (collectively the “Registrable Securities”), to use commercially reasonable efforts to have the registration statement declared effective as soon as practicable, and to maintain the effectiveness of the registration statement until the earlier of (A) the date on which all Registrable Securities have been sold pursuant to the registration statement, (B) the date on which all Registrable Securities have been sold under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, or (C) the passage of four years from March 3, 2014, and (ii) to grant the Facility Agent or its permitted assignees or transferees the right to two demand registrations and unlimited piggyback registrations, subject to certain conditions; provided that in each case, the Company will pay all expenses associated with each registration.
 
The foregoing description of the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference to the copy of the Registration Rights Agreement, filed with this report as Exhibit 4.1, incorporated herein by reference.

Item 1.02. Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement.
 
On March 3, 2014, Warburg Pincus Private Equity IX, L.P. (“Warburg”) received the required payoff amount to repay in full all obligations owed by Beams to Warburg as set out in a payoff letter dated February 26, 2014, upon which the share pledge agreement among Beams, Warburg as the secured party and Warburg as the collateral agent dated as of April 23, 2008 and the registration rights agreements dated as of May 24, 2007 and April 23, 2008, by and among Beams, Warburg and the Company, in each case, as amended, restated, or otherwise modified, and the liens created thereunder terminated in accordance with the terms of such payoff letter.

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, market and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, announced the commencement of construction of its new drying facility in Carhaix, France (located in the department of Finistere in the Brittany region). On January 10, 2014, the Company held a ground-breaking ceremony in Carhaix, which was attended by distinguished guests including Mr. Pierre Maille, President of General Council of Finistere, Mr. WU Xilin, Minister-Counsellor of Economic and Commercial Affairs in Chinese Embassy in France, and Mr. PAN Nuo, President of Bank of China Paris Branch.

As previously announced, under the partnership agreement between Synutra and France's Sodiaal, the drying facility is intended to manufacture powdered milk and fat-enriched demineralized whey for the needs of Synutra. Over the course of 2013, Synutra received key regulatory approvals and construction permits and the project also received the internal credit approval within Bank ofChina for the construction period financing. The facility is designed to have a total plant area of 200,000 square meters, a total construction area of 40,249 square meters, with production capacity of up to 100,000 tons annually. The facility will comply with both EU and China's manufacturing standards and will adopt world-class production and testing equipment, management techniques, and strict EU standards for material selection, production, and packaging, to ensure high quality and nutritional value for Synutra's products.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, said, "The start of construction of our new drying facility launches the implementation phase of this project. When completed, the facility will secure a long-term, stable supply of raw material imported from France, further solidifying Synutra as a quality and trusted brand. With advanced production equipment and our French partner's world-leading managerial expertise in the dairy industry, Synutra will have greater capacity to provide safe and nutritious formula to more infants in China."

Second Quarter 2014 Financial Results

• Net sales was $88,556,000 an increase from last years $66,100,000
• Net income attributable to common stockholders was $6.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2014, or $0.11 per basic share, compared with a net income of $4.8 million, or $0.08 per basic share, in the previous quarter.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "We are very pleased with our second quarter performance, particularly given that the summer months are seasonally slower periods for our business and recent industry events added to sales volatility. The tailwind of the successful Gold Mining Strategy continued to strengthen our pricing power with the distributors, which offset the sequentially lower volume and rising raw material costs. Our gross margin remained stable on a sequential basis while net margin improved over last quarter as we continued to exert tight control on sales and general administrative expenses."

"In addition to the steady execution of our existing production and distribution, we're making progress on our new drying facility project in Brittany, France. On the financing side, we have received preliminary approval from a leading Chinese bank to fund the majority of the project investment in the form of project financing. On the construction front, we received a key construction permit in the fiscal second quarter and have also engaged industry leading engineering and equipment vendors. We are expecting the final regulatory approval, the environmental impact report for the project in December and construction is scheduled to commence shortly after that. The strategic importance of this project has become more and more evident as China's infant milk formula ("IMF") industry, with the increased involvement from the Chinese government, puts more and more emphasis on premium-quality materials, advanced quality control techniques, and professional execution. We expect this project to create tremendous value for both our customers and shareholders in the long term."

"This quarter the Chinese government continued to introduce measures to address product quality concerns and to improve the image of domestic brands. We welcome the heightened scrutiny from the government, media and consumers alike as we remain focused on the superior quality and safety standards of our partners, manufacturing practices, and retail products, as well as ensuring reasonable pricing on our various product lines for our Chinese consumers. As we gain greater confidence in our ability to control discounts while sustaining our shipment volume among fierce market competitions, we remain confident in our opportunities in the second half of the year. We expect our top line for the third quarter fiscal 2014 to be in the range of $85 to $90 million, and net income to be in the range of $7.5 to $8.5 million," concluded Mr. Zhang.

First Quarter 2014 ended June 30, 2013 Financial Results

• Net sales increased 13% to $82.2 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 from $72.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013
• Gross profit was $36.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to $28.3 million in the previous quarter
• Net income attributable to common stockholders was $4.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2014, or $0.08per basic share, compared with a net income of $3.3 million, or $0.06 per basic share, in the previous quarter.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "We are very pleased with our overall performance and the ongoing recovery of our core business this quarter, highlighted by our better than forecasted quarterly sales results and improved profitability during a seasonally slower period. We continued to strengthen the sales operation in our core branded powdered formula segment and also experienced significant results within our nutritional ingredients segment. As our sales organization and outlet network continued to stabilize, we experienced year-over-year as well as sequential increases to both our shipment volume and average selling price."

"We also experienced notable progress in our Nutritional Ingredients and Supplements segment, winning substantial orders that propelled us into the leading market share position of chondroitin sulfate materials in the world for the first time. Our capacity utilization in this business segment increased to approximately 70% in the first quarter and is expected to increase further in the coming quarters."

"The Chinese infant formula industry has experienced some major changes in recent months. We are closely watching and evaluating any impact this may have on Synutra, while also capitalizing on opportunities that could come with the changes. We will proactively communicate any risk factors we perceive with the investment market. With our strong supply chain, our state-of-the-art production facility, our brand equity and our solid sales operation after the Gold Mining program, we remain confident in Synutra's ability to be a leading player in the Chinese infant milk formula industry." concluded Mr. Zhang.

Fourth Quarter 2013 Financial Results

• Net sales decreased 1% to $72.9 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 from $73.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2013.
• Gross profit was $28.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, compared to $31.5 million in the previous quarter.
• Net income attributable to common stockholders was $3.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, or$0.06 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $13.3 million, which included $11.1 million income tax expense from valuation allowance for deferred tax assets, or $(0.23) per diluted share, in the previous quarter.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "We were highly encouraged with our ongoing efforts to stabilize our core branded powdered formula business and return to profitability in the fiscal fourth quarter. We believe the short-term negative impact of our price increase implemented in April 2012 has diminished as we continue to nurture and invest in our brands to garner broader trust at the retail level. "

"In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, we were pleased to have substantially completed the 'Gold Mining' program which originally started in September 2012. First, as of March 31, 2013, the number of active retail outlets that sell our products stabilized at approximately 27,000, in line with our projection. Since these retail outlets were selected for their existing high levels of sales volume, we believe the marketing and promotional expenditures incurred by these outlets became more efficient. Second, we have deployed an effective inventory tracking system, primarily comprised of personal digital assistant (PDA) devices and cell phone applications, to the majority of our distributors and retail outlets. Over the past five months, we have gained greater visibility to distributors' varying inventory levels by helping them efficiently trace inventory distribution, preventing cross-territorial selling and providing greater logistical support. The completion of our "Gold Mining" strategy provides a strong foundation to improve channel inventory visibility, drive higher efficiency of marketing and promotion expenditures, and ensure greater operational efficiency. "

"The initiatives we've implemented in FY13 to improve our business performance has set the stage for strong improvement to our top and bottom line financial performance in FY14. We believe we can be successful delivering top line sales growth through higher average selling prices and product volume growth. By focusing on higher yielding sales outlets as well as our commitment to support our brands to a more concentrated group of distributors and retail customers, we believe we can achieve improved levels of sales, gross margin and net profit in FY14 compared to the prior year period," concluded Mr. Zhang.

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., April 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, market and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, announced that it has received the required approvals from China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and its Ministry of Commerce (MC) for the construction of a new drying facility in Carhaix, France.

As originally announced on September 18, 2012, Synutra signed a long-term industrial and commercial partnership agreement with Sodiaal, the leading dairy cooperative in France, and its subsidiary, Euroserum, a world leader in demineralized whey powders. Under this partnership agreement, Synutra will build a new drying facility in Carhaix, France intended to manufacture powdered milk and fat-enriched demineralized whey for the needs of the Synutra group. With the approvals from the NDRC and MC, Synutra remains on schedule to develop the new drying facility.

Mr. Liang Zhang , Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "It is a very notable achievement for Synutra to have received the required approvals for our French project by the Chinese government and we look forward to moving ahead with the development of this new drying facility. We are confident our industrial and commercial partnership with Sodiaal and Euroserum can further increase consumer confidence in Synutra brand products and strengthen our competitive position as a leading dairy and nutritional product provider in China."

First Quarter Fiscal 2013 Financial Results

• Net sales decreased to $53.6 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 from $85.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. Net sales from the Company's branded powdered formula segment were $50.5 million, or 94% of net sales in the quarter, compared to $82.5 million, or 96.7% of net sales, in the previous quarter
• Gross profit decreased to $17.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 from $35.6 million in the previous quarter primarily related to the decrease in quarterly sales. Gross margin in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 decreased to 32% compared to 42% in the previous quarter.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "Our results were lower than anticipated in our fiscal first quarter. With the 15% price increase implemented on April 1^st, 2012 for our infant formula products, our distributors and sub-distributors have taken advantage of purchasing products at pre-increase pricing levels, resulting in reduced levels of purchase orders during our fiscal 2013 first quarter. The weak sales orders have also been exaggerated by a seasonal sales slow-down we typically experience during the hot summer months. We believe it will take another quarter for our customers to work through their inventories before we expect higher levels of ordering activity to return in our fiscal second half. As our sales growth accelerates in the back half of the year, we expect to see greater operating leverage related to the price increase that will have a positive impact on our financial performance."

"We continue to make a concerted effort to enhance our direct communications with customers to expand our market position. This interaction is reinforced through our customer support call centers, store promotions activity and local and national television advertising spots. We are also focused on enhancing the yield of our present distribution system through proper resource and incentive allocation for our top-grossing brand series as well as strengthening our sales efforts.China's dairy industry continues to offer compelling growth characteristics and the expansion of our market position is possible over the long term by ensuring the highest product quality, raising our brand visibility and enhancing the productivity of our distribution system."

"We have solid opportunities to expand our market position in powdered milk formulas and generate strong revenue and profit growth in the second half of our fiscal year. Building on our capabilities in dietary supplement ingredients, we are also cultivating other nutritional supplement product opportunities, including chondroitin sulfate sodium products for joint health, within the current fiscal year. We remain confident that our high quality products and strong management capabilities will result in long-term growth for our shareholders."

Fiscal 2013 Business Outlook

Mr. Liang Zhang concluded, "For the full year of fiscal 2013, we are adjusting our full year outlook to reflect the slower than anticipated sales in the first quarter and second quarters with stronger levels of growth and profitability expected in the fiscal 2013 second half. We currently expect our FY2013 revenue to grow to approximately $380 million to $400 million and achieve profitability of approximately $50 to $57 million. Although we are working through a challenging period in the fiscal first half, we continue to be encouraged with our opportunities in the second half of our fiscal year."

Fourth Quarter 2012 Results

• Net sales decreased to $85.4 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 from $114.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 and were up from the $79.3 in last years fourth quarter.
• Net income attributable to Synutra International, Inc. common stockholders was $7.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012, or $0.13 per diluted share, compared to $10.3 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the previous quarter, reflecting steady profitability and an increase over the loss of $0.13 in last years fourth quarter.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "We are pleased to achieve profitability for the first full fiscal year 2012 since the 2008 melamine crisis with net income attributable to common stockholders of $16.7 million, or $0.29 per diluted share. Quality and consumer confidence remain key issues within our industry. However, we believe our ability to regain sustained profitability after overcoming multiple industry challenges demonstrates the long term potential of Synutra."

"For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, our performance continued to demonstrate the sustained market potential of our powdered formula brands. Sequentially, our results were lower due to several factors. First, as we have previously noted, the earlier timing of the Chinese New Year holiday this year led to some sales being shifted to December 2011 from January 2012. Also, in the fiscal third quarter, our increased promotional efforts for the Super-Love and Helanruniu brands led to strong revenue growth, while in the fourth quarter we paced our promotional activities to avoid the holiday season promotion clutters in the market. The gross margin expansion maintained the trend of gains when adjusted for the holiday order shift to the previous quarter. Early in the quarter, we feared a media event regarding an infant death case in Jiangxi province which alleged a connection to our product could have adversely impacted our business. Through vigorous and successful crisis management efforts, we cleaned our name and we believe the impact of that event was largely limited and localized."

"We are encouraged with our progress and look forward to our initiatives for the upcoming fiscal year. As we have previously announced, we implemented an approximately 15% price increase to accommodate rising costs and industry trends. In the near term, we expect the impact on margins to be minimal and may lead to softer sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 as distributors continue to work through their level of higher orders placed in the second half of fiscal 2012 in anticipation of our price increase. Over the long term, we believe our price adjustment will lead to further margin expansion and drive sales growth as well. Furthermore, after adjusting for certain seasonality effects, we believe our steady market share and powdered formula revenue performance over the past few quarters demonstrates that Synutra continues to grow healthier operationally and financially. As we continue on this trajectory, we are confident that our focus on quality products, distribution expansion and strong industry understanding will lead to strong returns for shareholders in fiscal 2013 and beyond."

Business Outlook

Mr. Liang Zhang concluded, "Looking forward to the 2013 full fiscal year, we expect revenues to be in the $400 to $420 million range and net income to be in the $55 to $65 million range. We aim to maintain steady profitability while continuing to invest in sales and distribution expenses to drive market penetration of new product lines. Overall, while we recognize there may continue to be short term fluctuations related to industry volatility, we are confident in our ability to deliver sustained market share and long-term growth for shareholders."

"Operationally, we remain focused on product safety. We continue to concentrate on the effectiveness of our already stringent quality control processes and continue to invest in improvements. This January, when media reports on the death of a child in Jiangxi brought product safety into the spotlight, we swiftly conducted an internal investigation while actively cooperating with local authorities in their fact-finding efforts. Two days after the story aired, we published the outcome of our own investigation to show our products were safe. Initial government findings came shortly thereafter, confirming that our products were safe and consistent with national standards. In less than seven days, final results of multiple rounds of testing by separate government authorities further confirmed what we already knew. While it is still early to determine the effect of this incident on our business, we are encouraged by the fact that no Synutra products were pulled from store shelves due to this event other than the one shop in Jiangxi where the infant's family purchased their formula.

"Looking forward, we caution that the fourth fiscal quarter's results may be more muted compared to the performance of the third fiscal quarter, considering the following impacts. First, there is the effect of the Chinese New Year holiday which shifted some January 2012 orders forward to December 2011. In addition to affecting sales performance, this will also impact margins as we provide distributors with fixed discounts each period, which is why margins vary with sales volume. Second, it is still early to quantify the impact of the Jiangxi incident. January 2012 orders were placed ahead of the incident so any impact will affect the February and March order numbers. Lastly, we are preparing to implement a distributor price increase of about 15% on April 1, 2012, to bring our prices more in line with rising costs and industry trends. We expect this supplier price adjustment will translate into a retail price increase of up to 15% on average resulting in future margin expansion and revenue growth. Overall, the coming quarter will be an exciting one in Synutra's development. We look forward to updating the market as we gain more visibility."

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, market and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today issued a statement in response to local Chinese media reports of a pair of 4-month old twins in Jiangxi province who became ill with severe intestinal symptoms. One passed away from dehydration on January 7, 2012. The other has recovered following hospitalization. Both children were reported to have been consuming Synutra powdered milk formula products for weeks before the sudden onset of their illnesses.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, stated, "Our hearts go out to the family suffering from this tragic event. At the same time, we firmly believe this is an isolated incident unrelated to Synutra's products.  All of our products, including the lot under question, are thoroughly tested and analyzed before shipment. These products are formulated and produced under stringent safety standards to safely meet the nutritional needs of infants.  We have chosen to not recall any of our products because we are confident that they are safe. We are also not aware of any decisions to remove our products from store shelves, except in the store from which the ill infants' formula originated.

"The Company and our distributors are actively cooperating with various local and provincial authorities to investigate the source of the reported illness," continued Mr. Zhang. "The Jiangxi Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision is in the process of testing product samples collected from the affected family.  We recognize the pain of the grieving family. However, we hope to reassure consumers that we are fully confident that our products are safe.  We believe in the quality of our products and stand by our quality assurances," Mr. Zhang concluded.

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, market and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced the planned relocation of the Company's R&D, customer service, call-center, and training facilities into a new corporate campus in Beijing by the end of December, 2011.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, remarked, "Our planned move is coming amidst robust sales growth after our most recent profitable quarter ended September 30, 2011 with a net income of $8.5 million. According to the Commercial Information Center (CIC) of the Ministry of Commerce, our market share in China's infant milk formula sector improved to 5.9% for the month of October.

Mr. Weiguo Zhang, President and Interim CFO of Synutra, commented, "Although promotional activities on certain product lines may partially contribute to the apparent surge in the expected sales growth, we are pleased by our steady trend of improvement. We are particularly encouraged by the margin expansion and operating cash flow staying in positive territory since the previous reporting period. Other factors that may drive the potential sales growth include the fact that the fall season typically sees more active consumer buying and that distributors stock up ahead of time in December in anticipation of the early on-set of Chinese New Year holidays in the month of January 2012. Nevertheless, we believe

the top-line growth for the three months ending December 31, 2011 will be between 45% to 48%, which, we believe would likely result in an expected net income range of $9 to $10 million for the three months ending December 31, 2011."

"I wanted to emphasize," continued Mr. Liang Zhang, Synutra Chairman and CEO, "that the Company has moved beyond the turbulent market crises and is returning to a normalized operating environment. We will continue to focus on our day-to-day operations to produce the safest and highest quality products for our customers, and we will continue to attend to the fundamentals and work to enhance shareholder value."

GeoTeam Note: Net income guidance works out to about EPS of $0.17 vs. a $0.10 street estimate.

Second quarter of fiscal 2012

• Net sales rose to $99.1 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 from $43.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2012.
  
• Gross profit was $42.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2012, compared to $16.1 million in the previous quarter.
  
• Gross margin in the second quarter of fiscal 2012 was 42.4%, compared to 36.7% in the previous quarter.

 As sales volume continues to grow and selling costs decrease as a percentage of net sales, the Company expects margins to continue to strengthen but at a more gradual pace to converge towards a long term normalized range.

• Net income attributable to Synutra International, Inc. common stockholders was $8.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012, or $0.15 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $9.6 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in the previous quarter.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, remarked, "We are pleased to return to profitability with net income of $8.5 million, an important milestone in the continued recovery of our powdered formula sales from the hormone allegations. We believe our sustained recovery is driven by the effectiveness of our consumer-centric marketing strategy, which has led to sales growth while controlling advertising and promotional costs. There is still room for improvement through margin expansion. However, we believe our three consecutive quarters of improvement demonstrate that our recovery is long term and sustainable. We are focused on quality, a topic that continues to grow in prominence among China's consumers, and we are differentiated by our end consumer-centric marketing, which strengthens our distribution reach. Over the long term, we are confident that these factors will help differentiate us among China's fragmented infant dairy market to strengthen our future growth momentum."

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYUT) ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, market and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ("Appellate Court") affirmed a previous ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ("District Court"). As announced in April 2010, the District Court had granted the Company's motion to dismiss a product liability lawsuit brought against the Company related to products allegedly sold by subsidiaries during the 2008 melamine crisis in China. The plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal thereafter. In its opinion issued on September 6, 2011 regarding the appeal, the judges of the Appellate Court affirmed the District Court's dismissal of the complaint on the grounds of forum non conveniens.

Mr. Weiguo Zhang, President and interim CFO of Synutra, commented, "We are gratified that the Appellate Court has affirmed the District Court decision that the case is dismissed. We believe this will help us to focus on our business and enhance shareholder value by removing uncertainty and alleviating investor concerns."

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., August 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYUT), a leading infant formula company in China and a producer, marketer and seller of nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced Donghao Yang has resigned from his position as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") to pursue another professional opportunity, effective immediately. Weiguo Zhang, the Company's President and Chief Operating Officer since 2005, will serve as interim CFO as the Company conducts its search for potential CFO candidates.

• Net sales increased 79.3% to $79.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 from $44.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011, led by growth in the Company's infant formula sales. Net sales from the Company's branded powdered formula segment were $48.3 million, or 60.9% of net sales in the quarter, compared to $20.7 million, or 46.8% of net sales, in the previous quarter. Net sales of the Company's Super series infant formula accounted for 53.9% of the volume of sales and 65.8% of the net sales of the powdered formula segment for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011 compared to 45.4% of the volume of sales and 57.1% of the net sales of the powdered formula segment in the third quarter of fiscal year 2011. By volume, sales of powdered formula products were 6,057 tons in the fiscal fourth quarter compared to 4,063 tons in the previous quarter.

• Gross profit was $17.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, compared to $5.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2011. Gross margin in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 was 22.0%, compared to 11.4% in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. This reflects the impact of the discounts the Company provided to distributors to regain market share, which were deducted from gross sales, negatively impacting net sales and gross margin.

• Loss from operations improved substantially to $6.4 million, from the $24.1 million operating loss in the prior year period. Total operating expenses were 30.1% of revenue reflecting advertising and promotional activities in line with the Company's normalized range.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, remarked, "Our results this quarter demonstrate that our recovery is ongoing and, we believe, sustainable. Sales of our branded powdered formula have doubled since the last quarter, led by growth of our Super series. Furthermore, we have launched a new brand, our My Angel series, to capitalize on the shifting market dynamics of China's infant dairy market. This supplementary product line will be distributed through specialty baby stores with unique formulations and is not expected to cannibalize our existing premium product lines. Looking forward, we believe our focus on premium quality brands as well as our broadening distribution reach will lead to greater consumer recognition."

Mr. Donghao Yang, Chief Financial Officer of Synutra, commented, "The fourth quarter is also significant from a channel perspective. We have begun to see signs of our distributors' inventory levels stabilizing after the destocking in the previous two quarters. Overall, we are pleased with the continued financial and operational improvements accomplished by our dedicated employees."

Mr. Yang continued, "We are pleased to note strong sequential growth in our financial performance. Operating results have shown significant improvement in the fourth quarter compared to the previous two quarters when the hormone crisis impacted results. Our powdered formula segment sales increased by 133.2% and gross margin more than doubled in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter. Operating loss this quarter narrowed by 73.3% compared with the previous quarter. As we have observed, the destocking of channel inventory is coming to an end, which is a major contributing factor to our operating improvement. As our market share continues to recover directionally over time, distributors will adjust their inventory level upward accordingly, so we expect to see further improvement in our operating results in the coming quarters."

QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Synutra International, Inc.today announced financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 ended December 31, 2010.

Donghao Yang, Chief Financial Officer of Synutra, commented, "The negative media reports from early August 2010 continued to drastically impact our financial results, and our third quarter sales of $44.2 million and net loss of $20.5 million can be directly attributed to that disruptive event.  However, our sales and gross margin performance from the month of December in our powdered formula segment gives us reason to believe the worst is behind us and we have begun a sustainable recovery.  I am also pleased to report that channel inventory turnover days, which is a gauge of distributor and retail demand, improved materially from a peak of 120 days in August 2010 to 43 days in December 2010, which is in line with more normalized levels of between 40 to 45 days. We have provided these monthly metrics because this additional layer of transparency allows us to better illustrate the recovery we believe started to materialize late in the third quarter, after we took swift measures to respond to the negative media reports from August."

• Net sales increased 7.4% to $44.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011 from $41.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Gross profit was $5.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011, compared to $8.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2011. Operating loss in the December quarter was $24.1 million, slightly better than the $26.1 million operating loss in the September quarter.

Operating expenses remained elevated as a percentage of sales due to the Company's aggressive investment in advertising and promotional activities to rebuild brand equity and recover market share.  Sequentially, operating expenses decreased as the Company drew back advertising and promotional expenses to more normalized levels through the quarter from a high of $7.5 million in September to $3.4 million in December.  

Second Quarter Fiscal 2011 Financial Overview

• Net sales were $41.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2011, compared to $65.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2010.  

• Loss from operations was$26.1 millionin the second quarter of fiscal 2011, compared to a loss of $16.3 million in the prior year period.  

• For sequential comparison, in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011, operating income was $16.3 million.  

• Net loss attributable to Synutra International, Inc. common shareholders was $21.2 million, or $0.37 per diluted share in the second quarter of fiscal 2011, compared with a net loss of $14.0 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, in the prior year period.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "The second quarter of fiscal 2011 was very challenging for Synutra.  The premature development allegations, which drove a considerable decline in our market share, left a deep and lasting impact on our business.  We are proud, though, of our response to this very difficult situation.  We took the initiative to reach out to the proper authorities to verify the quality of our products and stem further consumer panic, we mobilized our sales team and call center to handle customer concerns and we have provided our distributors with more discounts and promotional activities to maintain the strength of our distribution channels.  We also directly confronted the source of these erroneous media reports, Phoenix Satellite Television, who then issued a formal public apology."

Zhang continued, "Today, we are cautiously optimistic about our ongoing recovery.  Following the melamine crisis, our management team demonstrated that they are capable of returning Synutra to profitability.  We are confident that through the dedication and commitment of this same team, Synutra will rebuild its market presence and recapture its previous long-term growth momentum."

Synutra International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYUT),  today provided the web link to Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Limited's ("Phoenix TV") public apology.  As announced yesterday, Synutra has received a formal public apology from Phoenix TV for promulgating false claims against Synutra. The on-air apology, delivered on the same program as were the false claims, resolves the previously reported legal actions brought by Synutra against Phoenix TV and its subsidiary, Beijing Tianying Jiuzhou Network Technology Co. Ltd, the operating company of the website ifeng.com.  

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, commented, "We never doubted the quality of our product or our commitment to our consumers, and we believe the public apology from Phoenix TV is an appropriate response, especially since it comes from the very source of the false allegations. We feel that Phoenix TV's on-air apology lays a sturdy foundation for the restoration of our brand going forward. To that end, we remain cautiously optimistic about our ongoing recovery, and we continue to monitor diligently our sales channels."

To view the video segment containing the apology, please visit the Events and Presentations page of the Company's IR website, http://www.synutra.com/. The apology begins approximately 32'10" into the show, and lasts until approximately 33'50" into the show.

 First Quarter Fiscal 2011 Financial Highlights:

• Net sales up 77.0% to $83.8 million from $47.4 million in the prior year period.
  
• Gross profit increased 136.9% to $46.4 million from $19.6 million in the prior year period.
  
• Gross margin up substantially to 55.3% from 41.4% in the prior year period.
  
• Operating income increased to $16.3 million from an operating loss of $10.6 million in the prior year period.
  
• Net income attributable to Synutra International, Inc. common shareholders increased to $10.1 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, from a net loss of $9.9 million or ($0.18) per diluted share, in the prior year period.

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra stated, "Our fiscal first quarter financial results continue to demonstrate our return to growth and profitability. Last quarter marked the significant milestone of our return to profitability. This quarter, we have continued to leverage our robust information network and innovative, consumer driven marketing strategy to further improve our revenue mix and drive profitability."

SYUT also addressed product quality rumors:

Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra stated, "Certain parties in the media recently attempted to create a crisis by linking our products to premature development and precocity in children. These claims are highly irresponsible and based on speculation instead of scientific evidence. Certain members of the media promulgated these claims despite the fact that many different external factors have been linked to premature development in children, and, additionally, China's CDC and several leading scientists already stated publicly that there was no evidence linking our products to such symptoms.

"As a well-known and trusted provider of infant formula in China, we are completely confident that our products are safe and our quality levels are industry-leading. We do not add hormones to our products and we have invested heavily in research, quality control, formulations and ingredients. We have participated in exhaustive quality testing at all required government levels, including with the relevant state agencies and industry groups. Additionally, our upstream ingredient suppliers are also reliable and trusted around the world.

"Recently, we have worked closely with state authorities, including the Chinese Dairy Association and the Office of Food Safety, to test product samples to prove that these claims are false. We expect that the results of these tests should be made public soon, and we hope that they are published expeditiously. We firmly believe they will illustrate our unwavering product quality and commitment to consumer safety.

"We are in the process of taking legal action to protect our brand, and we intend to prosecute the parties responsible for these accusations to the furthest extent possible."

On the balance sheet, Synutra reported cash and cash equivalents of $29.58 million on June 30, 2009, compared to $37.74 million on March 31, 2009. Working capital was negative at $83.74 million, compared to negative working capital of $80.43 million three months earlier. Long-term debt at the end of June 2009 was $16.10 million, compared to $8.78 million at the end of March. The working capital deficit was caused primarily by the product recall expenses, including product replacement cost; shipping charges and inventory write-down and write-off, as well as the subsequent loss of sales. As of June 30, 2009, the Company was not in compliance with certain covenants of its loan agreement with one of its lenders, ABN AMRO Bank, N.V., Hong Kong branch, which was acquired by Royal Bank of Scotland. The Company is currently in discussions with the lenders on a waiver and is unable to predict when, or if the waiver will be granted. Also, in order to maintain sufficient funds for its operations, it has postponed the payment of certain accounts payables and has negotiated with certain suppliers to extend payment terms beyond the customary terms.

Source: Business Wire (August 11, 2009)

SYUT filed its Third quarter report with the SEC.  The company reported a significant EPS loss of $0.91 on an 82% drop in revenues to $17.66 million . 

There were two main reasons for the decreased financial results:

1.  Sales volume of powdered formula products decreased by 21.0% to 23,719tonsfor the nine months ended December 31, 2008 from 30,035 tons for the same period in the previous year. The decrease was primarily due to a slow down in sales activities in the second half of September to December 2008, following the melamine contamination incident and our shipments in the second and third fiscal quarters were mainly used for the replacement of recalled products in the quarter ended December 31, 2008, partially offset by a significant business growth experienced in the months from April to August, 2008.

2.  The average selling price of our powdered formula products for the nine months ended December 31, 2008 increased by 21.6% to $9,090 per ton from $7,475 per ton for the same period in the previous year. This increase in average selling price was a combined result of a greater proportion of higher-priced products in our product mix and a broad increase of our sales price in August 2008.

Source: SEC Form 10Q (February 9, 2009)

The GeoTeam® will monitor the company's progress as it attempts to put this chapter behind them and continue its previous growth trend.  Analyst estimates show the company returning to profitability with EPS of $0.74 ($0.61 tax adjusted).