To the Shareholders of Granular AB (publ)

Transcription

1 To the Shareholders of Granular AB (publ)

2 Sales and Marketing The first quarter of 2014 signals the start of an exciting year! Stevia is no longer unknown in the food and beverage industry and early indications suggest that stevia can grow tremendously before the year is over. Distributors and sales staff report that customers are more aware of stevia as the natural solution for sugar and calorie reduction. Sales volumes in Q1 improved compared to the same period last year as well as the last quarter. The market is now beginning to grow towards the levels expected by market analysts. We have experienced an increased interest in quotations for dried organic stevia leaves, especially for the German market. In March, we received an order for 20 metric tons of our Paraguayan stevia leaves by a customer in Germany. 20 metric tons corresponds to two full containers of dried leaves. Our work with distributors has intensified and we are making sure that our expertise reaches the food and beverage manufacturers giving them the confidence to choose Real Stevia TM products. We have strengthened the portfolio of prototypes for consumer products available to the distributors for tasting in order to better demonstrate the great results achieved in sugar reduction with the use of Real Stevia TM. The sugar-free Real Stevia TM sweetened chocolate we formulated for a Belgian customer last autumn has proven to be a hit as a sample. The taste is unanimously preferred and serves as a good example of a successful stevia formulation. Viva Drinks sweetened with Real Stevia

3 Supply Chain In February 2014, Carl Horn, Founder and Chairman of the Board, together with Wilmar Restrepo, Head of Agricultural Development, visited Paraguay to oversee Granular s operations in the country. During the visit, Carl was invited to an event where the Ministry of Agriculture in Paraguay donated 50 irrigation systems and 16 rotary cultivators to newly recruited farmers in the Smallholder Program Granular has managed in Paraguay since Sustainability Report The Granular Sustainability Report for 2013 is now officially released and can be downloaded from realstevia.com. Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of Granular AB was held on March 25th in our office at Igeldammsgatan 22A. All shareholders were invited to join us for the meeting where we elected a new member of the board. Granular once again welcomes Zanna McFerson, current Chief Business Officer at Amyris and former Vice President of Cargill, serving as Business Director of Truvia, to the board of Granular AB. Further, it was resolved that Granular AB should now be a public company, which is a requirement in Sweden in order for a company s shares to be listed. Consequently, all official information will be released on the Company s web page as of 25 th March. Organisation Granular has moved to a smaller but more central office on Drottninggatan 68 in Stockholm after the cancellation of the rental agreement on Igeldammsgatan by the new property owner. Thomas Backelin, the company's Supply Chain Director since 2010 was appointed Deputy Managing Director in January As of March 2014, Joakim Wendt has been engaged as Financial Director.

4 Risks Negative cash flow continues to be the main risk for Granular in the short term. This risk has been mitigated in part through bridge loans and convertibles. A successful outcome of the ongoing rights issue (please see Financials) is key for the Company s ability to reach its goals for Financials During the first quarter, Granular signed an agreement with Alternativa aktiemarknaden regarding a rights issue with a subscription period from May 12th to June 3rd. This rights issue, if fully subscribed, will provide Granular with new funds of 15.6MSEK with an opportunity to increase the offer by a further 6.0MSEK in an overallotment option. Further, Granular has signed an agreement with Alternativa aktiemarknaden regarding trading in Granular s share, scheduled to commence by mid- June Group income increased somewhat compared with the first quarter of However, an order of 20 tonnes of dried leaves (approx. SEK ) was not accounted for during the period since it was not delivered prior to the end of March. This order will be accounted for in the income statement when delivered in the second quarter of Generally, while offers were higher in numbers and bigger in size compared to earlier quarterly results, sales were still slow. This was mainly due to order delays. Postponed order volumes are scheduled to come into play again later in The operating loss was slightly higher compared to the same period last year due to increased repayments of accrued debts. The group s comprehensive income and financial position for the 1st quarter in 2014, same period in 2013 and full year 2013 is presented below. All amounts in SEK thousands. Group Statement of Comprehensive Income Jan Mar 2014 Jan Mar 2013 Jan Dec 2013 Income Goods for resale Personnel expenses Depreciation/amortisation Other expenses Operating profit/loss Financial income Financial expenses Profit/loss before tax Tax Net profit/loss for the period

5 Group Statement of Financial Position ASSETS Non-current assets Goodwill Property, plant and equipment Financial assets Total non-current assets Current assets Inventories, etc Trade receivables Tax assets Other receivables Prepaid exp., accrued income Cash and cash equivalent Total current assets TOTAL ASSETS EQUITY AND LIABILITIES Share capital Other contributed capital Translation reserve Retained earnings incl profit/loss Total equity Long-term liabilities Convertible bonds Other long-term liabilities Total long-term liabilities Current liabilities Current share of long-term liability Prepayment from customers Trade payables Tax liabilities Liabilities to be exchanged for shares Other liabilities Accrued exp., deferred income Total current liabilities TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

6 Significant events after the reporting period Among others, Viva drinks in UK and Engelholms glass in Sweden have launched new products containing Real Stevia. Granular has hired the dietitian Linda Bäckman as a new member of the sales team. Linda was previously Product Specialist/Dietitian at Nestlé Health Science. Chairman of the board, Carl Horn af Rantzien has, as a private individual, guaranteed the upcoming purchase of the property currently used by Fundacion Granular. This property is used for the education of small holder farmers and is also intended as the future location of a stevia refinery. In April and May, Granular and several of its lenders have agreed to either postpone repayment or convert loans due in the short term into shares or new convertibles. For more information, please refer to the Information Memorandum published by the Board of Directors on May 12th The subscription period for Granular s rights issue commenced on May12th Questions regarding this quarterly report can be sent to: Managing Director Sophia Horn af Rantzien, sophia.horn@realstevia.com Financial Director Joakim Wendt, joakim.wendt@realstevia.com