DGAP-Adhoc: Haikui Seafood adjusts full-year revenue guidance, while maintaining relatively stable margins in 2013


Haikui Seafood AG   / Key word(s): Profit Warning

04.12.2013 11:44

Dissemination of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted
by DGAP - a company of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Haikui Seafood adjusts full-year revenue guidance, while maintaining
relatively stable margins in 2013

Frankfurt am Main, December 4, 2013. Due to the ongoing very tight supply
situation regarding crabs and prawns, Haikui Seafood was not able to secure
sufficient raw material to meet the demand of its customers. As a result of
this effect and on the basis of the preliminary sales figures for November
2013, Haikui Seafood revises its guidance for the full financial year 2013.

Management expects revenue in RMB terms to decline year-on-year between 35
and 45 per cent. Previously, the company anticipated revenue to decline by
around 20 per cent. Notwithstanding the steeper revenue decline, the
company's profit margin will not be impacted materially since raw material
is the major component of cost of sales. For full year 2013, Haikui Seafood
expects an EBIT margin in the range of 11 to 13 per cent (previously:
approximately 14 per cent).

Based on the weaker than expected financial results 2013, the Management
Board and the Supervisory Board of Haikui Seafood AG have decided not to
propose a dividend payment for the financial year 2013 to the Annual
General Meeting. The available funds shall be used to finance the planned
new processing facility.

The Chinese seafood industry is severely affected by the shortage of raw
material supply. The reasons for the shortage are: The wild catch and
harvest of crabs has been significantly lower than in 2012 and the supply
of prawns is severely plagued by the Early Mortality Syndrome. To date, the
harvest of these species has not picked up. Haikui Seafood expects this
situation to continue in the first few months of 2014.


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Information and Explaination of the Issuer to this News:

Crab and prawn products are typically the main driver of Haikui Seafood's
sales in the fourth quarter of the year, especially in December. This is
mainly in the context of the festive season - Christmas, New Year and
Chinese New Year. Due to the tight raw material supply, Haikui Seafood will
not be able to fulfil the high amount of orders on hand within the
remaining weeks of 2013. The required production lead time and the time for
quality control inspection by CIQ amounts to 25 days. This will lead to a
significant reduction of revenue in the fourth quarter 2013 compared to the
previous year. The shortfall in sales of crab and prawn products can be
compensated only to a very small extent by an increase in sales of other
product categories, because those products achieve a considerably lower
selling price.


About Haikui Seafood AG

Haikui Seafood processes fish and seafood for the Chinese and international
markets. Its products range includes frozen or canned fish and seafood,
produced from a large variety of species of raw fish and seafood, including
prawn, crab, various fish species and shellfish as well as cephalopods.
Clients of Haikui Seafood are distributors in China and overseas, located
mainly in Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Haikui Seafood employs on average
around 700 permanent employees and around 1,150 additional temporary
workers in 9M 2013. The company has an annual processing capacity of more
than 34,000 tonnes (output). The processing facilities are located in the
South-East of China on Dongshan Island, Zhangzhou, Fujian Province. Haikui
Seafood operates a streamlined supply chain including self-owned processing
facilities, in-house research and product development capacities as well as
warehousing and cold storage facilities while simultaneously cooperating
closely with raw goods suppliers.


For further information please visit www.haikui-seafood.com or contact

Kirchhoff Consult AG
Anja Ben Lekhal
Phone: +49 (0)40 609 186 55
anja.benlekhal@kirchhoff.de

04.12.2013 DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de

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Language:     English
Company:      Haikui Seafood AG 
              c/oAshurst,OpernTurm,Bockenh.Landstr.2-4
              60306 Frankfurt am Main
              Germany
Phone:        +49 40 60 91 86 - 0
Fax:          +49 40 60 91 86 - 60
E-mail:       haikui@kirchhoff.de
Internet:     www.haikui-seafood.de
ISIN:         DE000A1JH3F9
WKN:          A1JH3F
Listed:       Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
              in Berlin, Düsseldorf
 
End of Announcement                             DGAP News-Service
 
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