QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., January 15, 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 of China 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."
About Synutra International, Inc.
Synutra International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYUT) is a leading infant formula company in China. It principally produces, markets and sells its products through its operating subsidiaries under the "Shengyuan" or "Synutra" name, together with other complementary brands. It focuses on selling premium infant formula products, which are supplemented by more affordable infant formulas targeting the mass market as well as other nutritional products and ingredients. It sells its products through an extensive nationwide sales and distribution network covering all provinces and provincial-level municipalities in mainland China. As of September 30, 2013, this network comprised over 710 independent distributors and over 700 independent sub-distributors who sell Synutra products in approximately 27,000 retail outlets.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about Synutra International, Inc. and its industry. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is/are likely to," "may," "plan," "should," "will," "aim," "potential," "continue," or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements included in this press release relate to, among others, Synutra's goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations, particularly the progress on the new drying facility project in France; the expected growth of the nutritional products and infant formula markets in China; market acceptance of Synutra's products; the safety and quality of Synutra's products; Synutra's expectations regarding demand for its products; Synutra's ability to stay abreast of market trends and technological advances; competition in the infant formula industry in China; PRC governmental policies and regulations relating to the nutritional products and infant formula industries, and general economic and business conditions in China. These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although Synutra believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these expectations may turn out to be incorrect. Synutra's actual results could be materially different from the expectations. Important risks and factors that could cause actual results to be materially different from expectations are generally set forth in Synutra's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release. Synutra International, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
