Amira Nature Foods facts for kids
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| Public | |
| Traded as | Expert Market: ANFIF (formerly NYSE: RYCE, delisted on August 18, 2020) |
| Industry | Agribusiness |
| Founded | 1915 |
| Founder | B.D. Chanana |
| Headquarters | , |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Karan A. Chanana (Chairman) |
| Products | Rice, organic ingredients, pulses, oil, spices |
| Revenue |  $64.4 million USD (2019) |
| $-357.88 million USD (2019) |
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Number of employees
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27 |
Amira Nature Foods Ltd is a food company that mainly sells basmati rice and other food products. It is a public company, which means its shares can be bought and sold by people. However, since August 2020, Amira's shares are traded "over the counter" instead of on the New York Stock Exchange. This change happened because the company did not submit its financial reports on time to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Amira Nature Foods Ltd is a parent company registered in the British Virgin Islands and has its main office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This parent company owns many other 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 is the one that processes and ages basmati rice.
Contents
Company History and Growth
How Amira Started
Amira Nature Foods Ltd began a long time ago, in 1915! It was first called Nav Bharat and was founded by B.D. Chanana. Back then, it was a trading house that bought and sold local beans.
Passing Through Generations
Later, B.D. Chanana's son, Karam Chanana, took over the company. In 1968, Anil Chanana, who was the third generation of the family, joined the company. He changed the name to Amira and started focusing on exporting products to other countries. Today, Karan A. Chanana, from the fourth generation of the family, is the chairman and leads the company.
Where Amira Operates
Amira has its main office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. They also have offices in India, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. Since 2008, the company has been selling its products under its own "Amira" brand.
Becoming a Public Company
Amira Nature Foods Ltd became a public company on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2012. This meant that people could buy shares of the company. In December 2013, Amira bought a German company called Basmati Rice GmbH. This was their first purchase since becoming public, and it helped them sell more rice in Europe. In 2014, Amira also started selling its basmati rice online through a partnership with Snapdeal.
Recent Challenges and Changes
In March 2018, Amira faced a challenge when it had to report a loss of $134 million USD because some of its stored rice had gone bad.
Until 2018, Amira Nature Foods Ltd owned most of Amira Pure Foods, an Indian company that processes rice. However, in November 2018, Amira Nature Foods Ltd reduced its ownership in Amira India from 80.4% to 49.8%. This change helped reduce Amira India's debt. Because Amira Nature Foods Ltd now owns less than 50% of Amira India, Amira India is 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 assets (what the company owns) went down a lot, from $512.8 million in 2018 to only $26.2 million in 2019. This is why the company's financial results from 2019 onwards look very different from previous years.
In its reports for March 2019 (published in August 2020), Amira reported revenues of $64.4 million USD and losses of $-357.88 million USD. The company's auditor even said there was "substantial doubt" about whether Amira could continue operating. The company also reported that it was being sued in India by a lender who wanted a loan of $14.1 million repaid. Amira said this was because they couldn't pay their debts.
On August 18, 2020, Amira Nature Food Ltd's shares were stopped from trading on the New York Stock Exchange. This was because the company had not filed 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. The stock exchange decided that the company was not suitable for listing because of the delays in publishing its financial reports. Amira Nature Foods Ltd tried to appeal this decision but later withdrew their appeal. While the company did file its 2019 report, its 2020 report and any reports since then have not been published.
Amira's Products
Amira sells basmati rice that grows at the base of the Himalayas mountains. They buy this rice from small farmers in India. After the rice is harvested, it is usually aged for about a year in special bags. This aging process helps the rice get its wonderful smell and taste. After aging, the outer shell (husk) of the rice grain is removed. The rice is then processed in Delhi, India, by Amira India. Finally, it is sent out, marketed, and sold in stores and to other businesses all over the world.
Amira's basmati rice, which comes in shiny gold packaging, is known for having a "strong floral, nutty scent and flavor after cooking." Besides basmati rice, the company also sells other products like special and organic rice, cooking oil, spices, flour, and organic wheat, barley, and legumes.
Company Structure and Ownership
How Amira is Organized
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 a number of other companies, called subsidiary and associate companies.
| Name of company | Country of incorporation or establishment | Equity interest held |
|---|---|---|
| Amira Nature Foods Ltd (“Amira Mauritius”) | Mauritius | 100% by Amira Nature Foods Ltd |
| Amira International Finance B.V. | Netherlands | 100% by Amira Nature Foods Ltd |
| Red Reinel Limited | Mauritius | 100% by Amira Mauritius |
| Amira I Grand Foods Inc. | British Virgin Islands | 100% by Amira Mauritius |
| Amira Basmati Rice GmbH EUR | Germany | 100% by Amira Mauritius |
| Basmati Rice North America LLC | United States | 100% by Amira I Grand Foods Inc. (BVI) |
| Amira K.A. Foods International DMCC | United Arab Emirates | 100% by Amira I Grand Foods Inc. (BVI) |
| Amira G Foods Limited | United Kingdom | 100% by Amira I Grand Foods Inc. (BVI) |
| Name of company | Country of incorporation or establishment | Equity interest held |
|---|---|---|
| Amira Pure Foods Private Limited (“Amira India”) | India | 49.8% by Amira Mauritius |
Who Owns Amira
Karan A. Chanana, the current chairman, is the majority shareholder of Amira Nature Foods Ltd. He owns 65% of the company's ordinary shares.
Past Financial Claims
In February 2015, a company that makes money by betting against other companies (called a "short selling" firm) claimed that Amira had reported higher revenues than it actually earned. Amira disagreed and filed a lawsuit against this firm later in 2015, saying their reports were wrong. In April 2017, Amira announced that they had reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit.
After these claims in 2015, two lawsuits were filed against Amira in the United States by groups of shareholders. These lawsuits were later combined into one. Amira argued against the claims in the lawsuit and asked the court to dismiss it. On August 22, 2016, Amira announced that the court had agreed to throw out the lawsuit.
See also
