Amira Nature Foods facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Amira Nature Foods Ltd

Type	Public
Traded as	Expert Market: ANFIF (formerly NYSE: RYCE, delisted on August 18, 2020)
Industry	Agribusiness
Founded	1915
Founder	B.D. Chanana
Headquarters	Dubai , United Arab Emirates
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Karan A. Chanana (Chairman)
Products	Rice, organic ingredients, pulses, oil, spices
Revenue	$64.4 million USD (2019)
Net income	$-357.88 million USD (2019)
Number of employees	27

Amira Nature Foods Ltd is a food company that mainly sells basmati rice and other related food products. Basmati rice is a special type of rice known for its long grains and unique smell.

Amira is a public company. This means its shares can be bought and sold by the public. It trades over-the-counter (a way of trading shares outside a big stock exchange) since it was removed from the New York Stock Exchange in August 2020. The company was removed because it did not file its financial reports on time.

Amira Nature Foods Ltd is a main company, officially registered in the British Virgin Islands. Its main office is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This main company owns many smaller companies around the world that help distribute rice. Amira owns about half of a company called Amira Pure Foods Private Limited (also known as "Amira India"). Amira India processes and ages basmati rice.

History of Amira Foods

Amira Nature Foods Ltd started in 1915. It was first called Nav Bharat. It was founded by B.D. Chanana. At first, it was a trading company that bought and sold local beans.

Later, B.D. Chanana's son, Karam Chanana, took over the company. In 1968, the family's third generation, Anil Chanana, joined. He changed the company's name to Amira. He also started focusing on selling products to other countries. Karan A. Chanana, who is the current chairman, is the fourth generation of his family to lead the company.

The company's main office is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It also has offices in India, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. Since 2008, Amira has been selling its products under its own "Amira" brand.

In October 2012, Amira Nature Foods Ltd became a public company. Its shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In December 2013, Amira bought a German rice distributor called Basmati Rice GmbH. This helped Amira grow in Europe. In 2014, Amira also started selling its basmati rice online through a partnership with Snapdeal.

Recent Changes and Challenges

In March 2018, Amira reported a large financial loss of $134 million USD. This was because some of its stored rice had gone bad.

Until 2018, Amira Nature Foods Ltd owned most of Amira Pure Foods, an Indian company. This Indian company has a large facility in North India where basmati rice is processed. In November 2018, Amira Nature Foods Ltd reduced its ownership in Amira India. This change helped Amira India reduce its debt. Because Amira Nature Foods Ltd owned less than 50% of Amira India, Amira India was no longer considered a direct part of Amira Nature Foods Ltd's main financial reports.

This big change meant that Amira Nature Foods Ltd's total value dropped a lot. Its assets went from $512.8 million in 2018 to only $26.2 million in 2019. So, the company's financial results from 2019 onwards look very different from previous years.

In August 2020, Amira reported that it had lost $357.88 million USD in 2019. The company's financial checker said there was "substantial doubt" if Amira could continue operating. The company also faced legal action in India because it couldn't pay back a loan of $14.1 million.

On August 18, 2020, Amira Nature Food Ltd's shares were stopped from trading on the New York Stock Exchange. This is called being "delisted." It happened because the company did not file its annual reports for 2019 and 2020 on time. The company's shares were permanently removed from the New York Stock Exchange on December 29, 2020. Amira had tried to appeal this decision but later withdrew its appeal. The company has not published any annual reports since 2019.

Amira's Products

Amira sells basmati rice that grows at the bottom of the Himalayas mountains. They buy this rice from small farmers in India. After the rice is harvested, it is usually stored for a year in burlap bags. This helps the rice develop its special smell and taste. Then, the outer shell of the rice grain is removed.

The rice is then processed in Delhi, India, by Amira India. After that, it is sent out, advertised, and sold in stores and to other businesses all over the world. Amira's basmati rice is sold in shiny gold packaging. People say it has a "strong floral, nutty scent and flavor after cooking."

Besides basmati rice, Amira also sells other products. These include special and organic rice, cooking oil, spices, flour, and organic wheat, barley, and beans.

Company's Financial Information

Amira Nature Foods Ltd shares its yearly financial reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Please note: After Amira India was no longer fully part of Amira Nature Foods Ltd, the financial numbers from 2019 onwards cannot be directly compared to earlier years. Amira Nature Foods Ltd's total value dropped a lot in 2019 because Amira India was no longer fully included in its reports.

How Amira is Structured

Amira Nature Foods Ltd is a holding company. This means it doesn't do the direct work of making or selling products itself. Instead, it owns many other smaller companies.

Who Owns Amira

Karan A. Chanana is the main owner of Amira Nature Foods Ltd. He owns 65% of the company's shares.

Past Financial Claims

In February 2015, a company that makes money by betting against other companies' stocks claimed that Amira had reported higher sales than it actually had. Amira then sued this company, saying its claims were wrong. In April 2017, Amira announced that they had settled the lawsuit.

After these claims in 2015, some shareholders filed lawsuits against Amira in the United States. These lawsuits were later combined into one. Amira fought these claims. In August 2016, Amira announced that a US court had agreed to throw out the lawsuit against the company.

See Also

• Basmati
• List of rice cultivars