We achieved a gross margin percentage of 40% in both the second quarter and first half of 2018, due to higher volume sales of lower margin, newly-acquired products. Further, while our operating expensesrose on an absolute basis, they declined as a percentage of net sales, due in part to improved economies of scale across our businesses and in part to a G&A benefit from our quarterly revaluation of acquisition liabilities. Throughout the course of 2018, we have continued to integrate newly-acquired businesses, launch new products, maintain the regulatory defense of important products, and advance the development of our SIMPAS precision application technology. With modest interest expense and a reduced tax rate, our net income increased by 30% for the quarter and 32% for the first half. Also EBITDA2 increased during the quarter and half-year by 17% and 22%, respectively.”
Mr. Wintemute concluded, “During the balance of 2018, we anticipate strong performance from a number of key components of our business, including seasonally higher sales of soil fumigants and our cotton defoliant Folex. Also, our Central American region andnon-crop business are both primed to deliver improved sales in next two quarters. Further, we anticipate continued demand for our products in fruit and vegetables, strong sales of our Dibrom® mosquito adulticide and stable demand for our corn products leading into the 2019 spring planting season. Taken together, these factors should enable us to generate annual net sales within the range of $450 – $470 million for 2018 with little or no change in gross margin. We will provide additional detail on our financial performance and business prospects during the earnings call.”
Conference Call
Eric Wintemute, Chairman & CEO, Bob Trogele EVP & COO and David T. Johnson, VP & CFO, will conduct a conference call focusing on the financial results at 4:30 pm ET / 1:30 pm PT on Monday, August 6, 2018. Interested parties may participate in the call by dialing(201) 493-6744 – please dial in 10 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin, and ask for the American Vanguard call. The conference call will also be webcast live via the News and Media section of the Company’s web site at www.american-vanguard.com. To listen to the live webcast, go to the web site at least 15 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. If you are unable to listen live, the conference call will be archived on the Company’s web site.
About American Vanguard
American Vanguard Corporation is a diversified specialty and agricultural products company that develops and markets products for crop protection and management, turf and ornamentals management and public and animal health. American Vanguard is included on the Russell 2000® and Russell 3000® Indexes and the Standard & Poor’s Small Cap 600 Index. To learn more about American Vanguard, please reference the Company’s web site atwww.american-vanguard.com.
2 | The Company believes that the use of EBITDA is useful to investors in that it is one of the primary bases upon which borrowing capacity is calculated under the Company’s senior credit facility, it gives investors a sense of the Company’s financial conditions and results of operation without giving effect to the cost of increased acquisition activity in 2017 and it is commonly used by investors and others as a basis for supporting overall business valuations. Nevertheless, investors should not consider EBITDA in isolation or a substitute for analysis of the Company’s results as reported in accordance with GAAP. |