UAE-based and US-listed packaged rice supplier Amira Nature Foods has booked a 9% fall in half-year sales as a result of reduced pricing and the impact of exchange rates on the group’s rupee-denominated India business.

Amira said revenue for the six months to 30 September was US$210.9m, down from $231.7m in the same period a year ago.

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Adjusted EBITDA decreased $3.1m to $27.4m from $30.5m in the prior six months period. Amira said adjusted EBITDA margin was 13% for the six months ended 30 September 2016, “which is in-line with the company’s historical average and approximately 15 basis points lower than the prior year period”.

Profit after tax was $10m for the period, compared to $9.2m for the corresponding period a year ago. Adjusted profit after tax was $12.2m for the period to 30 September compared to $13.5m in the previous first-half period.

Amira CFO Bruce Wacha said: “The sales declines that we saw were largely driven by reduced pricing and the impact of currency translation due to the stronger dollar relative to our rupee-denominated India business. We believe that our India position has bottomed, while we have managed to hold onto our international business.”

Wacha said: “Our business continues to recover from the challenges that we faced in fiscal 2016. Although we saw lower sales for the six months ended 30 September 2016 compared to the prior year, our margins remained strong and our balance sheet healthy. We have a great platform for growth, benefiting from dual pillars of attractive industry dynamics and deeply entrenched positions in our core geographies. We remain committed to continued improvement in new and existing customer relationships and a return to growth.”

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In February, Amira signed a deal with UAE-based distributor MAN Consumer to grow the rice maker’s distribution in the country.

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