ANFI Amira Nature Foods Ltd

The following selected consolidated statements of profit or loss data for each of the years ended March 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 and selected consolidated statement of financial position data as of March 31, 2018 and 2017 are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report beginning on page F-1. The selected consolidated statements of profit or loss data for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 and selected consolidated statement of financial position data as of March 31, 2015 and 2014 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements of those respective years, which are not included in this Annual Report. Since October 15, 2012, when we completed our initial public offering, we own 80.4% of Amira India pursuant to the terms of a share subscription agreement between Amira Mauritius and Amira India. We accounted for this combination using the “pooling of interest method,” and accordingly, our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report include our and Amira India’s assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, which have been recorded at their carrying values and all periods in these financials have been retrospectively adjusted as applicable. The remaining 19.6% of Amira India that is not owned by ANFI is reflected in our consolidated financial statements as a non-controlling interest, and accordingly, the profit after tax attributable to equity shareholders of ANFI is reduced by a corresponding percentage.

The following selected consolidated financial statements data should be read in conjunction with “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. Our historical results for any period are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in any future period.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, we had adjusted EBITDA of $59.0 million, adjusted loss after tax of $ 3.5 million and adjusted earnings per share of ($0.09). In the following tables we have provided reconciliation of non-IFRS measures* to the most directly comparable IFRS measure:

*The group has used adjusted Cost of goods sold (after accounting for the impact of impairment of inventories) as explained in the MDA section

Described in detail in this report under the heading “Item 18. Financial Statements”; under Note 18 “Equity”.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

We are subject to certain risks and uncertainties described below. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known or are currently deemed immaterial may also impair our business and financial results.

Risks Related to Our indebtedness

If we are unable to amend our agreements with Amira India’s existing lenders or refinance the existing debt, we may be unable to implement our business strategy and the lenders may cause us to sell assets to repay the existing debt, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

On January 23, 2018, Amira India received approval of a license from the Directorate of Town & Country Planning of Haryana India to convert nine acres of its approximately 17 wholly owned acres of real estate property from factory use to residential use. Amira India applied for the license in early 2017 for all 17 acres and the license for the remaining eight acres is pending. In connection with the receipt of the license, Amira India will begin the planned process of re-locating its existing manufacturing facility to a new location. The conversion of the zoning of this portion of Amira India’s real estate from factory to residential use requires Amira India’s existing lenders to amend and/or refinance the existing debt of Amira India to include the re-zoned real estate as collateral. Our discussions with Amira India’s existing lenders regarding an amendment to the terms of the existing debt agreements or a refinance are ongoing and we have already proposed them to reclassify the debt between real estate and working capital. If we are unable to amend our agreements with Amira India’s existing lenders or refinance the existing debt as proposed, we may be unable to implement our business strategy and the lenders may cause us to sell assets to repay the existing debt, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Related to Our Business

We face significant competition from both Indian and international producers of Basmati and other rice and food products.

We compete for customers principally on the basis of product selection, product quality, reliability of supply, processing capacity, brand recognition, distribution capability, and pricing. With respect to our Basmati rice, we compete with numerous types of competitors in the fragmented and unorganized Basmati rice market, from other large Indian processors to smaller businesses in India and around the world. Basmati rice has historically only been grown successfully in certain states in North India and in a part of the Punjab region located in Pakistan, which regions have climates conducive to growing Basmati rice. In addition, our Basmati rice competes with a type of rice grown in California and Texas, among other places, which is marketed as Basmati rice to compete with our products.

Many of our competitors in the markets for our rice and other food products have a broader product selection, greater processing capacity, brand recognition advantages in certain Indian and international markets, and significantly greater financial and operational resources than we have. Also, since outside of supply chain management and distribution there are no substantial barriers to entry to the markets for our rice and other food products, increased consolidation and, particularly, a more organized Basmati market could decrease our market share or result in lower selling prices of our products or result in higher costs of our raw materials, thereby reducing our earnings.

Our growth significantly depends on our ability to penetrate and increase the acceptance of our Basmati rice and other products in new Indian and international markets.

Our historic compound aggregate growth results and trends are not indicative of our future results and may not be sustainable for the future .

We have industry pricing dynamics and an improvement in mix. As a result, the historic CAGR data and trends set out elsewhere in this Form 20F are not indicative of our future results and may not be sustainable for the future. In particular, our future growth CAGRs may increase at a lower rate or may not increase at all, which in turn would have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In fact, the Company had a particularly challenging year during its fiscal year ended March 31, 2017 where it had declines to its financial results due in part to challenging industry conditions, including the impact of currency exchange fluctuations on its business in India and lower industry pricing, as well as certain business disruptions that management believes were short term in nature.

We have a substantial amount of indebtedness, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial health and our ability to obtain financing in the future.

We have incurred a substantial amount of debt totaling $250.23 million, $224.4 million and $209.4 million as of March 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The aggregate amount outstanding under our various financing arrangements as of March 31, 2018 was $250.23 million, of which $0.03 million consisted of our non-current (long-term) debt and $250.2 million consisted of our current (short-term) debt, comprised primarily of our secured revolving credit facilities.

Our significant amount of debt could limit our ability to operate our business and impair our competitive position. For example, it could:

As of March 31, 2018, our outstanding current (short-term) debt, amounting to $250.2 million and comprising substantially all of our debt, bears interest at floating rates. Any upward movements in these interest rates would increase the interest costs of such loans and could harm our financial condition. Infact, the Reserve Bank of India has increased the interest rates in India two times in fiscal year 2018.

The Reserve Bank of India in 2018, promulgated the revised framework and guidelines for ‘loan asset’ identification, classification and provisioning for commercial banks in India. Businesses including ours (and individuals) across India, have faced cash management issues especially in the rapidly evolving regulatory regime in India since early part of fiscal of 2017. This has resulted in tightening of regulatory and credit environment in India. This tightening of credit has adversely impacted and disrupted our cash-to-cash cycle.

Further, amidst regulatory and credit tightening, the Indian lender banks have not agreed to reclassify loans extended to us into working capital and real estate loans. As a result, certain of our Indian lenders have classified our loan balances as Non-performing assets (NPAs). This continued impasse with the banks can result in revenues of the Indian subsidiary being severely impacted.

Further, the agreements and instruments governing our debt place specified limitations on incurrence of additional debt. Despite current indebtedness levels, we and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. However, if new debt is added to our and our subsidiaries’ current debt levels, the related risks would intensify.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on or to refinance our debt obligations depends on our financial condition and operating performance, which is highly sensitive to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We cannot assure you that we will maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient enough to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures or to sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. If our operating results and available cash are insufficient to meet our debt service obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations to meet our debt service and other obligations. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions or to obtain the proceeds that we could realize from them, and these proceeds may not be adequate to meet any debt service obligations then due. Any future refinancing of our indebtedness may not be on favorable terms and could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants which could further restrict our business operations.

The terms of our existing debt agreements may restrict our ability to operate and grow our business.

Our agreements with certain banks and financial institutions for short-term and long-term debt contain restrictive covenants, including, but not limited to, requirements that we obtain consent from the lenders prior to altering our capital structure or Amira India’s organizational documents, effecting any merger or consolidation with another company, restructuring or changing our management, declaring or paying dividends under certain circumstances, undertaking major projects or expansions, incurring further debt, undertaking guarantee obligations which permit certain Indian lenders to claim funds invested in us by our management or principal shareholders, entering into long-term or otherwise material contractual obligations, investing in affiliates, creating any charge or lien on our assets or sale of any hypothecated assets or undertaking any trading activities other than the sale of products arising out of our manufacturing operations. Also, we are required to maintain a current ratio (the ratio of the book value of our current assets to our current liabilities outstanding, including current debt as per statutory requirements) of at least 1.33 during the term of our secured revolving credit facilities for Amira India. Certain of our other credit facilities also include various financial covenants, but such facilities are not material. We may not be able to comply with such financial or other terms or be able to obtain the consents from our lenders necessary to take the actions that we believe are required to operate and grow our business.

We require substantial working capital and as a result, may seek additional financing in the form of debt or equity to meet our working capital requirements.

Our business requires substantial working capital, primarily because Basmati rice must be aged for approximately as much as 12 months or more (at times up to 24 months) before it reaches premium quality. Accordingly, we need to maintain a sufficient stock of Basmati paddy and rice at all times to meet processing requirements, which leads to higher inventory holding costs and increased working capital needs. In addition, we may need additional capital to develop our new processing facility and additional company-managed distribution centers in India and across the world.

We meet our working capital requirements largely by debt incurred under our revolving credit facilities, which we typically need to renew in a year or less. Sources of financing have historically included commercial banks under such credit facilities and equity investments. If we decide to incur more debt, our interest payment obligations will increase and our lenders may impose additional restrictions on our business which could result in reduced cash flows. If we decide to issue equity, the new equity will dilute the ownership interest of our existing shareholders.

We may not be able to raise adequate financing on acceptable terms, in time, or at all. Since the second half of fiscal 2008, disruption in the global financial markets has made obtaining additional financing in India more difficult. For example, due to inflation in India, the Reserve Bank of India has raised interest rates multiple times since 2011, thereby substantially increasing our borrowing costs. Moreover, restrictions on foreign investment in India may limit our ability to obtain financing for Amira India. See “Restrictions on foreign investment in India may prevent us and other persons from making future acquisitions or investments in India, which may harm our results of operations and financial condition” in this section. Our failure to obtain sufficient financing or maintain our existing credit facilities could harm our results of operations and financial condition and result in a reduction in our operations and the delay or abandonment of our development plans.

Our inability to meet the quality requirements of our customers or to anticipate and adapt to changes in the market demand for our products could reduce demand for our products and harm our sales.

Our results of operations and growth strategy depend upon the demand for Basmati rice and our other food products in the Indian and international markets. Demand for our products depends primarily on consumer-related factors such as demographics, local preferences and food consumption trends and macroeconomic factors such as general economic condition and the level of consumer confidence. We are also subject to regulation by the countries or regions where our customers are located, such as the European Union (“EU”) and the United States (“US” or the “U.S.”), relating to the quantity, quality, characteristics and variety of the Basmati rice and other food products sold there. Authorities may upgrade or change these regulations from time to time. Our international customers often require that the rice we sell matches their quality standards and conduct sample checks on our products. The results from their sample checks may not reflect the quality of the rice we deliver to them and the rice we sell to them may not comply with their quality specifications or requirements. If our customers’ sample checks identify any deficiencies in our rice, they will generally have the right to return the entire batch we sold to them. Consumer preferences often change over time, and, if we are not able to anticipate, identify or develop and market products that respond to changes in consumer preferences, demand for our products may decline. We must, on a regular basis, keep pace with the quality requirements and consumer preferences of our Indian and international customers, invest continuously in new technology and processes to provide the desired quality product and continually monitor and adapt to the changing market demand. Any failure to meet the quality requirements of our customers or to anticipate and adapt to changes in market demand could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We face risks associated with our international business.

In fiscal 2018, 2017 and 2016, we generated 65.3%, 50.1% and 56.4%, respectively, of our revenue outside India and we expect to increase our international presence over time. We currently have international offices in Malaysia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”), the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany, and we sell our products throughout Asia Pacific, EMEA and North America. Our existing and planned international business operations are subject to a variety of risks, including:

We currently expect to expand in our existing and additional target international markets, but our expansion plans may not be successful. Failure of, or delay in, our expansion plans could significantly harm our business, reputation and financial condition.

We may not be successful in identifying and acquiring suitable acquisition targets or making strategic investments, which could adversely affect our growth.

We have in the past expanded, and intend to expand in the future, our operations and markets through acquisitions or strategic investments. The identification and completion of such acquisitions or investments are dependent upon various factors, including satisfactory completion of due diligence, negotiation of definitive agreements and our ability to compete with other entities to acquire attractive targets. There is no assurance that in the future we will be able to identify and acquire appropriate acquisition targets on commercially acceptable terms, if at all, or will have sufficient capital to fund such acquisitions or investments. Failure to identify and acquire suitable acquisition targets or to make strategic investments in the future could adversely affect our growth.

Adverse conditions in the global economy and disruption of financial markets may prevent the successful development and commercialization of our products, as well as significantly harm our results of operations and ability to generate revenue and become profitable.

As a global company, we are subject to the risks arising from adverse changes in global economic and market conditions. The worldwide economy has been experiencing significant economic turbulence, and global credit and capital markets have experienced substantial volatility and disruption. These adverse conditions and general concerns about the fundamental soundness of Indian and international economies could limit our existing and potential partners’ and suppliers’ ability or willingness to invest in new technologies or capital. Moreover, these economic and market conditions could negatively impact our current and prospective customers’ ability or desire to purchase and pay for our products, or negatively impact our operating costs or the prices for our products. Changes in governmental banking, monetary and fiscal policies to address liquidity and increase credit availability may not be effective. Significant government investment and allocation of resources to assist the economic recovery of various sectors which do not include the food industry may reduce the resources available for government grants and related funding that could assist our expansion plans or otherwise benefit us. Any one of these events, and continuation or further deterioration of these financial and macroeconomic conditions, could prevent the successful and timely development and commercialization of our products, as well as significantly harm our results of operations and ability to generate revenue and become profitable.

We derive a significant portion of our income from international sales of Basmati rice, other specialty rice and other food products, which may be dependent upon the economies and government policies of the key countries to which we sell our products; any unfavorable change in such economies or government policies may harm our business.

We sell Basmati rice, other specialty rice and other food products to customers across five continents with significant portions of our international sales to Asia Pacific, EMEA and North America. We currently plan to expand our international operations into additional countries in the near future. For fiscal 2018, our international revenue accounted for 65.3% of our total revenue. If an economic slowdown or other factors adversely affect the economic health of the countries to which we sell, our international customers may reduce or postpone their orders, which may in turn lower the demand for our products and harm our revenue and profitability. In addition, uncertainty surrounding the potential exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union may have a significant impact on the global economy and foreign exchange rates which could have a negative impact on our financial condition.

Our rice may not comply with the applicable policies of the countries where we sell it and be returned to us. For instance, a change to a more stringent EU standard on the level of the pesticide isoprothiolane in Basmati rice in September 2008 led to a significant overall decrease in sales of Basmati rice to the EU. In November 2012, the EU standard reverted to the 2008 level.

In addition, any change in government policies and regulations, including any ban imposed on a particular variety of rice by a government, or any duties, pre-conditions or ban imposed by a country to which we sell our products, might harm our international sales. The loss of any significant international rice market because of such events or conditions could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our international sales are also exposed to certain political and economic and other related risks inherent to exporting products, including exposure to potentially unfavorable changes in tax or other laws, a reduction in import subsidies, partial or total expropriation and the risks of war, terrorism and other civil disturbances in our international markets. Our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to protect us against all such risks.

We may also be subject to certain sanctions imposed on, or reductions in import subsidies by, the countries or regions where our international customers are located. Further, we provide credit to our customers in connection with most of our international sales of Basmati rice, so, if any sanctions are imposed on the countries to which we sell, our collection of international receivables may be significantly delayed. Import subsidies may be removed by, and international sanctions may be imposed on, any Basmati importing countries in the future, and we may have reduced sales or not be able to collect revenue from all sales made there on a credit basis, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and exchange control risks, which may harm our results of operations and cause our financial results to fluctuate between periods.

Our operating expenses are denominated primarily in Indian Rupees; however, 65.3% of our total revenue for fiscal 2018 was denominated in other currencies, typically in U.S. dollars and occasionally in Euros, GBP and UAE Dirham, due to our international sales. In addition, some of our capital expenditures, and particularly those for equipment imported from international suppliers, are denominated in foreign currencies and we expect our future capital expenditure in connection with our proposed expansion plans to include significant expenditure in foreign currencies for imported equipment and machinery. A significant fluctuation in the Indian Rupee and U.S. dollar and other foreign currency exchange rates could therefore have a significant impact on our results of operations. The exchange rate between the Indian Rupee and these currencies, primarily the U.S. dollar, has fluctuated in the past and any appreciation or depreciation of the Indian Rupee against these currencies can impact our profitability and results of operations. Such fluctuations have affected our results of operations in the past and may do so again in the future. For example, the Indian Rupee has depreciated against the U.S. dollar over the past three years, which may affect our results of operations in future periods. Any amounts we spend to hedge the risks to our business due to fluctuations in currencies may not adequately protect us against any losses we incur due to such fluctuations.

We may be unable to adequately protect or continue to use our intellectual property; failure to protect such intellectual property may harm our business.

The success of our business, in part, depends on our continued ability to use the “Amira” name and other intellectual property to increase awareness of the “Amira” name. We attempt to protect our intellectual property rights through available copyright and trademark laws. Despite these precautions, existing copyright and trademark laws afford only limited practical protection in certain countries, and the actions taken by us may be inadequate to prevent imitation by others of the “Amira” name and other intellectual property. In addition, if the applicable laws in these countries are drafted or interpreted in ways that limit the extent or duration of our rights, or if existing laws are changed, our ability to generate revenue from our intellectual property may decrease, or the cost of obtaining and maintaining rights may increase. We also distribute our Amira branded products in some countries in which there is no trademark protection. As a result, it may be possible for unauthorized third parties to copy and distribute our Amira branded products or certain portions or applications of our Amira branded products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition. If we fail to register the appropriate trademarks or our other efforts to protect relevant intellectual property prove to be inadequate, the value of the Amira name could decrease, which could harm our business and results of operations.

We have also initiated legal proceedings against certain parties for infringement of our intellectual property rights. For instance, Amira India has filed multiple legal proceedings before various courts and forums in India against a number of third parties for infringement of the trademarks “Amira” and “Guru.” Amira India has successfully sought injunctive relief against a party from deceptively using our trademark “Guru” in one of the cases and in some cases has sought rectification of the register of trademarks to restrain the third parties from using any mark or label that is identical or deceptively similar to Amira India’s registered trademarks.

In the future, additional litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others or to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity. Regardless of the validity or the success of the assertion of any claims, we could incur significant costs and diversion of resources in enforcing our intellectual property rights or in defending against such claims, which could harm our business and results of operations.

We are a holding company and are dependent on dividends and other distributions from our subsidiaries, particularly Amira India, which we do not wholly own, and which will not pay us 100% of any dividend it declares, and whose ability to declare and pay dividends is restricted by loan covenants and Indian law.

We are a holding company and currently have no direct operations. As a result, we are dependent on dividends and other distributions from our subsidiaries (in particular, Amira India) for our cash requirements, which would include funds to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings for use in the operation and expansion of our business and neither ANFI nor Amira India anticipates paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Investors’ ownership of us represents a smaller corresponding indirect ownership interest of Amira India. Should we decide to pay dividends to our shareholders in the future, our ability and decision to pay dividends will depend on, among other things, the availability of dividends from Amira India. However, under the terms of some of Amira India’s current secured revolving credit facilities, we need the consent of lenders under our current secured revolving credit facilities to declare dividends for any year except (i) out of profits relating to that year after meeting all the financial commitments to the bank(s) and making all other due and necessary provisions and (ii) that no default had occurred in any repayment obligations during the year. Amira India has not paid or declared any cash dividends on its equity. The declaration and payment of any dividends by Amira India in the future will be recommended by its Board of Directors and approved by its shareholders at their discretion. Under Indian law, a company declares dividends upon a recommendation by its Board of Directors and approval by a majority of the shareholders at the annual general meeting of shareholders. However, while final dividends can be paid out by a company only after such dividends have been recommended by the Board of Directors and approved by shareholders, interim dividends can be paid out with only a recommendation by the Board of Directors. The shareholders have the right to decrease but not to increase any dividend amount recommended by the Board of Directors.

Amira India does not intend to pay dividends to its shareholders, including Amira Mauritius, in the foreseeable future, and may be prevented from doing so by certain restrictions on paying dividends under Indian law. Amira India may not have sufficient profits in any year or accumulated profits to permit payment of dividends to its shareholders. We do not own 100% of Amira India, therefore any dividend payment made by Amira India to us will also involve a payment to the other shareholders of Amira India, including Mr. Karan A. Chanana, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer , and his affiliates.

Insiders have substantial control over us; ownership by insiders of our ordinary shares and ownership by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of direct and indirect equity interests in Amira India give rise to conflicts of interest with our public shareholders.

Mr. Karan A. Chanana, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer , and his affiliates, including various companies controlled by him and direct members of his family, and certain of our other directors, directly or indirectly hold approximately 65.0% (including share options granted and vested) of the outstanding ordinary shares of ANFI as on March 31, 2018. Accordingly, these shareholders are able to control all matters requiring approval by holders of a majority of our outstanding ordinary shares, including the election of all the members of our Board of Directors (which allow them day-to-day control of our management and affairs), amendments to our memorandum and articles of association, our winding up and dissolution, and other significant corporate transactions. Specifically, they are able to approve any sale of more than 50% in value of our assets, and certain mergers or consolidations involving us, a continuation of the company into a jurisdiction outside the British Virgin Islands where we are currently domiciled, or our voluntary liquidation. As a result, Mr. Chanana and his affiliates can cause, delay or prevent a change of our control, and generally preclude any unsolicited acquisition of us, even if such events would provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to receive a premium for their ordinary shares, or are otherwise in the best interests of our public shareholders.

In addition, Mr. Karan A. Chanana and certain of his affiliates, including various companies controlled by him and certain members of his family, hold a significant minority equity interest in Amira India, an entity through which we conduct a significant portion of our operations. These shareholders may have conflicting interests with our public shareholders. For example, if Amira India indirectly makes distributions to us, Mr. Karan A. Chanana and his affiliates will also be entitled to receive distributions pro rata in accordance with their percent of ownership in Amira India, and their preferences as to the timing and amount of any such distributions may differ from those of our public shareholders. In addition, the structuring of future transactions may take into consideration tax or other ramifications to Mr. Karan A. Chanana and these affiliates even where there would be no similar implication to us or our public shareholders.

Mr. Karan A. Chanana and Ms. Anita Daing (a former Director of Amira Pure Foods Private Limited “APFPL”) have also issued personal guarantees of $235.7 million in favor of lead banks or lenders of certain of our credit facilities; in the event of a default under these credit facilities, the lenders may seek payment from Mr. Chanana and/ or Ms. Daing. As a result of these guarantees, Mr. Chanana and Ms. Daing may have a conflicting interest with our shareholders and/or other creditors of the Company which may not be resolved in our best interest. However, ANFI has indemnified its present and former directors and officers, including Mr. Chanana and Ms. Daing, in accordance with its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and indemnification agreements entered into with such directors and officers. Such indemnification includes indemnification for Mr. Chanana’s and Ms. Daing’s personal guarantees described above.

If the transfer pricing arrangements we have among our subsidiaries are determined to be inappropriate, our tax liability may increase.

We have transfer pricing arrangements among our Indian, Dubai, UK, Germany, and U.S. subsidiaries. U.S. and Indian transfer pricing regulations, as well as regulations applicable in other countries in which we operate, require that any international transaction involving associated enterprises be on arm’s length terms. We consider the transactions among our subsidiaries to be on arm’s length terms. If, however, a tax authority in any jurisdiction reviews any of our tax returns and determines that the transfer prices and terms we have applied are not appropriate, or that other income of our affiliates should be taxed in that jurisdiction, we may incur increased tax liability, including accrued interest and penalties, which would cause our tax expense to increase, possibly materially, thereby reducing our profitability and cash flows.

We could be subject to tax risks attributable to previous tax assessment periods.

We could accrue unanticipated tax expenses in relation to previous tax assessment periods which have not yet been subject to a tax audit or are currently subject to a tax audit. In such tax audits, the tax laws or relevant facts could be interpreted by the tax authorities in a manner deviating from the relevant company's view. As a result, the tax authorities could revise original tax assessments, which would cause our tax expense to increase, possibly materially, thereby reducing our profitability and cash flows.

Risks Related to our Business and Operations in India

A substantial portion of our business and operations are located in India; we are subject to regulatory, economic, social and political uncertainties in India.

A substantial portion of our business and employees are located in India and we intend to continue to develop and expand our business in India. Consequently, our financial performance and the market price of our ordinary shares will be affected by changes in exchange rates and controls, interest rates, changes in government policies, including taxation policies, social and civil unrest and other political, social and economic developments in or affecting India.

The Government of India has exercised and continues to exercise significant influence over many aspects of the Indian economy. Since 1991, successive Indian governments have generally pursued policies of economic liberalization and financial sector reforms, including by significantly relaxing restrictions on the private sector. Nevertheless, the role of the Indian central and state governments in the Indian economy as producers, consumers and regulators has remained significant and we cannot assure you that such liberalization policies will continue. The present government, formed in May 2014, has announced policies and taken initiatives that support the continued economic liberalization policies that previous governments have pursued. The rate of economic liberalization could change, and specific laws and policies affecting food companies, foreign investments, currency exchange rates and other matters affecting investments in India could change as well. Further, protests against privatizations and government corruption scandals, which have occurred in the past, could slow the pace of liberalization and deregulation. A significant change in India’s policy of economic liberalization and deregulation or any social or political uncertainties could significantly harm business and economic conditions in India generally and our business and prospects.

The Reserve Bank of India and the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India withdrew the legal tender status of INR 500 and INR 1,000 currency notes pursuant to notification dated November 8, 2016. The short-term impact of these developments has been, among other things, a decrease in liquidity of cash in India. There is uncertainty on the long-term impact of this action. The short- and long-term effects of demonetization on the Indian economy and our business are uncertain and may have a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The Indian government levied GST on sales of branded food products in second half of 2017 resulting in supply chain disruption and also extended operating cash cycle.

Business environment (including legal and regulatory) in India is continuously evolving and there are new laws, regulations and /or ordinances being enacted like demonetization, GST, bankruptcy laws, new and updated banking regulations in India etc. which has a significant impact on the Company’s business. These and continuing changes by the Indian administration have impacts which are not essentially positive for the business environment, as initially anticipated.

All these changes have the potential to create an untested and unfavorable situation for our business, where the impact to our business is unknown. Some vendors have attempted to use and misuse some of these laws against us.  However, these can happen again and create a negative impact on the business.

The Reserve Bank of India in 2018, promulgated the revised framework and guidelines for ‘loan asset’ identification, classification and provisioning for commercial banks in India. Businesses including ours (and individuals) across India, have faced cash management issues in the rapidly evolving regulatory regime in India since early part of fiscal of 2017. As a result, certain of our Indian lenders have classified our loan balances as Non-performing assets (NPAs). This continued impasse with the Indian banks can result in revenues of the Indian subsidiary being severely impacted. The Indian company has been working pro-actively to negotiate the reclassification of its loans with Indian lenders. Collateral offered to banks, being factory land (9 acres out of 17 acres), has been licensed and approved for conversion to residential real estate. This has infact, increased the value of the security for banks and at the same time gives us the opportunity to monetize the asset and reduce the loans in future. However, amidst regulatory and credit tightening, the Indian lender banks have not agreed to reclassify loans extended to us into working capital and real estate loans.

The Government of India has previously banned the export of certain of our products, and future changes in the regulation of our sales to international markets may harm our results of operations and financial condition.

We generated 65.3% of our revenue in fiscal 2018 from products we sold outside India. As such, a portion of such international revenue is subject to the Government of India’s export control laws. Unfavorable changes in, or interpretations of, existing Indian laws, rules and regulations, or the adoption of new Indian laws, rules and regulations applicable to us and our business, may harm our results of operations and financial condition. Such unfavorable changes could decrease our ability to supply our products, increase our costs or subject us to additional liabilities. For example, from October 2007 to September 2011, the Government of India prohibited the export of non-Basmati rice from India. In addition, the Government of India has in the past and may in the future impose export duties or other export restrictions on our products that could harm our business and financial condition. The Government of India also determines the Minimum Export Price (“MEP”), which is the minimum price below which rice (except Basmati rice) cannot be exported from India, and so could at any time increase the prices at which we may sell our non-Basmati rice products outside India. While the Government of India terminated the MEP for Basmati rice in July 2012, the Government of India may in the future reinstitute the MEP for Basmati rice. Any increase or reinstitution of the MEP above our then current prices could decrease our international sales and harm our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, any other duties or tariffs, adverse changes in export policy or other export restrictions enacted by the Government of India and related to our international business could harm our results of operations and financial condition.

As the Indian market constitutes a significant source of our revenue, a slowdown in economic growth in India could cause our business to suffer.

In fiscal 2018, we derived 34.7% of our revenue from sales in India. Based on latest information from the CIA World Factbook, estimates for consumer inflation in India was 3.8% in 2017 and 4.5% in 2016. The performance and growth of our business are necessarily dependent on economic conditions prevalent in India, which may be significantly harmed by political instability, regional conflicts and economic slowdown elsewhere in the world or otherwise. The Indian economy also remains largely driven by the performance of the agriculture sector which depends on the quality of the monsoon, which is difficult to predict. Although the Indian economy has grown significantly, any future slowdown in the Indian economy could harm the demand for the products we sell and, as a result, harm our results of operations and financial condition. India’s trade relationships with other countries and its trade deficit may significantly harm Indian economic conditions. If trade deficits increase or are no longer manageable, the Indian economy, and therefore our business, our financial performance and the price of our ordinary shares could be significantly harmed. India also faces major challenges in sustaining its growth, which include the need for substantial infrastructure development and improved access to healthcare and education. If India’s economic growth cannot be sustained or otherwise slows down significantly, our business and prospects could be significantly harmed.

Restrictions on foreign investment in India may prevent us and other persons from making future acquisitions or investments in India, which may harm our results of operations and financial condition.

India regulates ownership of Indian companies by foreigners and, although some restrictions on foreign investment and borrowing from foreign persons have been relaxed in recent years, these regulations and restrictions may still apply to acquisitions by us or our affiliates, including Amira Mauritius and other affiliates which are not resident in India, of shares in Indian companies, or the provision of funding by us or any other entity which is not resident in India to Amira India. Under current Indian regulations, transfers of shares between non-residents and residents are permitted (subject to certain exceptions) if they comply with, among other things, the pricing guidelines and reporting requirements specified by the Reserve Bank of India. If the transfer of shares is not in compliance with such pricing guidelines or reporting requirements, or falls under any of the exceptions referred to above, then the prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India is required. We may not be able to obtain any required approval from the Reserve Bank of India or any other Indian regulatory authority on favorable terms or at all.

Further, under its consolidated foreign direct investment policy, the Government of India has set out additional requirements for foreign investments in India, including requirements with respect to downstream investments by Indian companies owned and controlled by non-resident entities. Amira Mauritius, which is considered a non-resident entity under applicable Indian laws, directly holds a majority of Amira India’s equity shares. Accordingly, any downstream investment by Amira India into another Indian company will have to comply with conditions applicable to such Indian entity, in accordance with the consolidated foreign direct investment policy. While we believe that these regulations will not have any material impact on our operations in India, these requirements, which currently include minimum valuations for Indian company shares and restrictions on sources of funding for such investments, may restrict our ability to make further equity investments in India, including through Amira Mauritius and Amira India.

Natural or man–made calamities and health epidemics could have a negative impact on the Indian economy and cause our business to suffer.

A substantial portion of our operations, employees and customers are located in India, which has historically experienced natural or man-made calamities such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, climate change and drought. In December 2004, Southeast Asia, including both the eastern and western coasts of India, experienced a massive tsunami, and, in October 2005, the State of Jammu and Kashmir experienced an earthquake, both of which caused significant loss of life and property damage. The extent and severity of these natural or man-made disasters determines their impact on the Indian economy. Natural or man-made disasters may occur in the future and may have an adverse effect on our business.

In recent years, certain regions of the world, including India and several other countries in which we operate, have experienced outbreaks of swine flu caused by the H1N1 virus. Any future outbreak of swine flu or other health epidemics may restrict the level of business activity in affected areas which could adversely affect our business.

Adverse weather, disease, pests and over farming in India could reduce the general availability of paddy, which may affect our operations and growth plans.

Although Basmati rice is not entirely dependent upon a successful monsoon, the consistent failure of monsoons in India, extreme flooding, adverse weather or other natural calamities may harm the production of Basmati and other paddy. In addition paddy farmers could shift their production to other crops, resulting in a drop in paddy production. Such adverse weather and supply conditions may occur at any time and create volatility for our business and results of operations. Crop diseases and pest infestations may also affect production; such events may vary in severity, depending on the stage of production at the time of infection or infestation, the type of treatment applied and climatic conditions. Major diseases and pests such as leaf blight, sheath blight, smut, blast, rice tango virus and stern borer affect our suppliers’ production. The costs to control these diseases and other infestations vary depending on the severity of the damage and the extent of the plantings affected. The available technologies to control such diseases and infestations may not continue to be effective. Furthermore, the continued use of intensive irrigated rice-based cropping systems in producing paddy may cause deterioration of soil health and productivity. Any of these risks can affect the availability and current and future cost of paddy. The future growth of our business depends upon our ability to procure quality paddy on a timely basis. We may not be able to procure all of our paddy requirements, and our failure to do so would harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Water or power shortage or other interruptions in utility supply issues in India could disrupt our processing and harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our processing facility and our storage and distribution facilities require a continual supply of utilities such as water and electricity. Our processing facility and most of our storage and distribution facilities are located in India, and the Indian authorities may ration the supply of utilities. Interruptions of water or electricity supply could result in temporary shutdowns of our storage, processing, packaging and distribution facilities. Any major suspension or termination of water or electricity or other unexpected service interruptions could significantly harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Terrorist acts and other acts of violence involving India or other neighboring countries could significantly harm our operations directly, or may result in a more general loss of customer confidence and reduced investment in these countries that reduces the demand for our products.

Terrorist attacks and other acts of violence or war involving India or other neighboring countries may significantly harm the Indian markets and the worldwide financial markets. The occurrence of any of these events may result in a loss of business confidence, which could potentially lead to economic recession and generally cause significant harm to our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, any deterioration in international relations may result in investor concern regarding regional stability, which could decrease the price of our ordinary shares.

South Asia has also experienced instances of civil unrest and hostilities among neighboring countries from time to time. There have also been incidents in and near India such as terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Delhi and on the Indian Parliament, troop mobilizations along the India and Pakistan border and an aggravated geopolitical situation in the region. Such military activity or terrorist attacks in the future could significantly harm the Indian economy by disrupting communications and making travel more difficult. Resulting political tensions could create a greater perception that investments in Indian companies involve a high degree of risk. Furthermore, if India were to become engaged in armed hostilities, particularly hostilities that were protracted or involved the threat or use of nuclear weapons, we might not be able to continue our operations. Our insurance policies may not be sufficient to protect us from terrorist attacks or business interruptions caused by terrorist attacks, violence, acts of war, civil unrest, hostilities or other reasons.

Stringent labor laws in India may harm our ability to have flexible human resource policies; labor union problems could negatively affect our processing capacity and overall profitability.

India has stringent labor legislation that protects the interests of workers, including legislation that sets forth detailed procedures for dispute resolution and employee removal and imposes financial obligations on employers upon employee layoffs. These laws may restrict our ability to have human resource policies that would allow us to react swiftly to the needs of our business, discharge employees or downsize our operations. We may also experience labor unrest in the future, which may delay or disrupt our operations. If such delays or disruptions occur or continue for a prolonged period of time, our processing capacity and overall profitability could be negatively affected. For instance, in May 2005, certain workers at our processing facility declared a strike to demand higher wages and enhanced labor policies, and to protest certain workforce reductions. The strike was called off in 2006, but certain of such workers’ claims are currently pending adjudication before the Gurgaon Labour Court and the outcome of such adjudication may not be favorable to us. We also depend on third party contract labor. It is possible under Indian law that, despite our having made appropriate payment to the contractors, we may be held liable for wage payments to these laborers if their contractors default on payments to the laborers. Liability for any non-payment by contractors may harm our business and results of our operations. In addition, an industrial court or tribunal in India could direct us to absorb our contract workers as permanent employees and the government of a state in India may prohibit the employment of contract labor. If we are required to employ contract workers on the same terms as our permanent employees, this may increase our costs.

Changing tax laws, rules and regulations and legal uncertainties in India, including adverse application of tax laws, may adversely affect our business and financial performance.

The regulatory and policy environment in which our business in India operates is evolving and subject to change. Such changes, including the few instances (which are only illustrative and not exhaustive) briefly mentioned below, may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, to the extent that we are unable to suitably respond to and comply with such changes in applicable law and policy:

The impact of any or all of the above changes to Indian legislation on our business cannot be fully determined at this time. Uncertainty in the applicability, interpretation or implementation of any amendment to governing law, regulation or policy may impact the viability of our current business or restrict our ability to grow our business in the future. Further, if we are affected, directly or indirectly, by the application or interpretation of any provision of such laws and regulations or any related proceedings, or are required to bear any costs in order to comply with such provisions or to defend such proceedings, our business results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Operations

Any decline in the market price of Basmati rice while held by us for aging could harm our results of operations and financial condition.

The Basmati rice industry is cyclical and dependent on the results of the Basmati paddy harvest, which occurs for only seven months of the year (September to March). We purchase Basmati paddy from farmers through government regulated agricultural produce markets or through licensed procurement agents and then process it throughout the year. A unique feature of Basmati rice is that its quality is perceived to improve with age. Our Basmati rice is sold as much as 12 months or more (at times up to 24 months) after harvesting and generally commands a price premium. As a result, we typically allow our Basmati paddy to age from six to eight months and our processed Basmati rice to age for an additional four to six months before we sell it. If there is any fall in the price of Basmati rice during the time we hold it for aging, we may not be able to recover, or generate the same margins from, our investment in Basmati paddy or processed rice, which may harm our results of operations and financial condition.

The price we charge for our Basmati rice depends largely on the prevailing wholesale market price; lower market prices may harm our results of operations and financial condition.

Numerous factors affect the wholesale price of Basmati rice, including weather, government policies such as the reintroduction of minimum support prices and minimum export prices, changes in prices of other staples, seasonal cycles, pest and disease problems and balance of demand and supply. Furthermore, the highly fragmented nature of the Basmati rice industry in India limits the pricing power of individual companies. Any prolonged decrease in Basmati rice prices could harm our results of operations and financial condition. Currently, we are not able to hedge against such price risks since Basmati rice futures do not actively trade on any commodities exchange.

Due to the seasonality of our business, our operating results may vary over interim periods.

Our revenue is typically higher from October through March than from April through September. We procure most of our Basmati paddy between September and March. Our business requires a significant amount of working capital primarily due to the fact that a significant amount of time passes between when we purchase Basmati paddy and sell finished Basmati rice. Accordingly, we maintain substantial levels of working capital indebtedness that is secured by our inventory. Therefore, our revenues and cash flows are affected by seasonal cyclicality.

We rely on agents to procure sufficient Basmati paddy of the proper quality for our processing requirements.

We are largely dependent on agents known as “pucca artiyas” who are authorized to make purchases of Basmati paddy (or rough, unprocessed Basmati rice) in the organized and government-regulated agricultural produce markets in India known as “mandis.” These agents may not be able to procure the quantities required for our business while maintaining our quality standards. We have adopted standard operating procedures with respect to purchases, which include training and monitoring the performance of these agents, but we have no direct control over their purchasing activities. Any failure by these agents to deliver the right quantities or quality of Basmati paddy at the right price could harm our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, we typically enter into oral, non-binding agreements with these agents for the services they provide, and we may not be able to maintain these arrangements on substantially the same terms, if at all, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition, despite the recent trend of consolidation in the Indian market for Basmati rice, the Basmati paddy market remains relatively fragmented and includes organized and unorganized suppliers such as small family owned farms. We expect this fragmentation to continue for the foreseeable future. These smaller companies may not be able to maintain a required flow of Basmati paddy to us should our volume requirements rapidly increase. If we are unable to buy from these agents sufficient Basmati paddy which meets our quality requirements, we may not be able to process and sell as much finished rice as we planned or promised to our customers, which could harm our reputation with these customers, as well as our business and results of operations.

We currently rely on our one processing and packaging facility and a limited number of third party processing facilities. An interruption in operations at our facility or in such third party processing facilities could inhibit our ability to fill orders for our products.

We operate a single processing and packaging facility in Gurgaon, near New Delhi, India. Any significant disruption at this facility for any reason, including regulatory requirements, the loss of certifications or approvals, technical difficulties, labor disputes, war or civil disorder, power interruptions or other infrastructure failures, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes or other force of nature, could disrupt our ability to supply our products and significantly harm our business, results of operations and financial performance. We also heavily depend upon a limited number of third party processing facilities to produce products responsible for substantial portions of our revenue, some of which facilities are owned by our competitors. These facilities are subject to their own unique operational and financial risks, which are out of our control. We have no production agreements with these third party processing facilities, and can provide no assurance that we will be able to use their processing capacity to produce our products. If any of these processors choose not to provide us processing services, we may need to find and enter into arrangements with one or more replacement processors. Finding alternate processing facilities could involve significant delays and other costs and these sources may not be available to us on reasonable terms or at all. Any disruption of processing or packaging could delay delivery of our products, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We generally do not enter into long-term or exclusive supply contracts with our Basmati rice and other customers or with our distributors. Failure to receive timely repeat orders from our customers or our distributors may harm our business.

We generally do not enter into long-term supply contracts with most of our customers. Our customers instead submit purchase orders from time to time, which are short-term commitments for specific quantities of Basmati rice and other products at an agreed price. In addition, we typically complete the paddy procurement process two to six months before we receive purchase orders from customers, forcing us to rely primarily on historical trends, other market indicators and management estimates to predict demand, which is particularly difficult as we expand into new markets. We usually expand our procurement operations based on a trend of historical growth and delivery, but we may not receive purchase orders commensurate with our expanded operations on substantially the same terms, or at all, and we may not get expected repeat orders from our customers. As a result, we are vulnerable to volatility in market demand, which could harm our business and results of operations.

In addition, we typically do not enter into long-term or exclusive arrangements with our distributors. If we are not able to supply our distributors the quantities of our products that we have historically supplied them, they may place orders with and even move some or all of their business permanently to our competitors. In addition, our distributors could change their business practices or seek to modify the terms under which we usually do business with them, including the amount and timing of their payments to us. Further, we rely upon our distributors to assess the demand for our products in their market based on their interactions with retailers and consumers. If our distributors do not accurately predict the demand for our products, delay in placing orders with us, fail to market our products successfully or choose to market the products of our competitors instead, such actions could harm our business growth and prospects, financial condition and results of operations. Further, our inability to maintain our existing distributors or to expand our distribution network in line with our growth strategy could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We derived 37.0% of our total revenue from our top five customers and distributors in fiscal 2018; the loss of the revenue from any such customer would harm our results of operations and financial condition.

Our top five customers and distributors accounted for 37.0%, 24.0% and 30.4% of our total revenue for fiscal 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. We anticipate that this concentration of sales among customers may continue in the future. Although we believe we have strong relationships with certain of our key customers, we do not have any long-term supply contracts with these customers obligating them to buy product from us. Our inability to maintain or further develop our relationships with our key customers and distributors would harm our results of operations and financial condition. Moreover, changes in the strategies of our largest customers, including a reduction in the number of brands they carry or a shift to competitors’ products, could harm our sales.

Production of paddy is subject to risks related to potential climate change such as global warming.

Agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate change, including large-scale changes such as global warming. Global warming is projected to have a significant impact on conditions affecting agriculture, including temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, precipitation and the interaction of these elements. Higher temperatures may eventually reduce yields of desirable crops while encouraging weed and pest proliferation. Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration may lead to a decrease in global crop production. Changes in precipitation patterns increase the likelihood of short-run crop failures and long-run production declines. While crop production in the temperate zones may reap some benefit from climate change, crop production in the tropical and subtropical zones appears more vulnerable to the potential effects of global warming. Even a high degree of farm-level adaptation by the suppliers of our paddy may not entirely mitigate such negative effects. All of our paddy is grown in tropical and subtropical areas. As a result, all of our suppliers’ production is particularly susceptible to climate change in these areas. Rapid and severe climate change may decrease our suppliers’ crop production, which may significantly harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Improper storage, processing and handling of our paddy or rice could damage our inventories and, as a result, harm our business and results of operations.

We typically store paddy in covered warehouses or in bags placed on open-air, raised plinths (or platforms) and processed rice in covered warehouses. In the event our paddy is not appropriately stored, handled and processed, spoilage may reduce the quality of the paddy and the resulting processed rice. Even if paddy is appropriately stored on open-air plinths, above-average rains may still harm the quality and value of paddy stored in this manner. In addition, the occurrence of any mistakes or leakage in the rice storage process may harm the yield, quality and value of our rice, leading to lower revenue.

The development of our new processing facility is subject to various risks; we may not be able to complete the facility as planned or on schedule.

As part of our growth strategy, we intend to develop a new processing facility in India. We estimate the cost to be approximately $64 million in total and we intend to rely on outside funding for this facility. Our plans remain subject to certain potential problems and uncertainties, including availability of financing, increased costs of equipment or manpower, completion delays due to the need to find an appropriate location for the facility at acceptable costs, a lack of required equipment, financing permits or approvals or other factors, defects in design or construction, changes in laws and regulations or other governmental action, cost overruns, accidents, natural calamities and other factors, many of which may be beyond our control. Any delays in completing this facility could result in our loss or delayed receipt of revenue, as well as increases in financing and construction costs. Our proposed expansion will also require significant time and resources from our management team. Any failure by us to meet revenue or income targets may require us to reconsider our development plans. If these plans do not proceed as planned, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be harmed. Even if completed, our new processing facility may not yield the expected or desired benefits in terms of process and cost efficiencies, or an expansion in our business. We will also incur additional fixed costs from the new facility, and may not be able to timely reduce these or other fixed costs in response to a decline in revenue, which would harm our results of operations and profitability.

We rely upon independent third party transportation providers for substantially all shipments through our supply chain and are subject to increased shipping costs as well as the potential inability of our third party transportation providers to deliver on a timely basis.

We currently rely upon a network of independent third party transportation providers for substantially all of our shipments of paddy and rice to storage, processing, packaging and distribution facilities, as well as from distribution facilities to market. These transportations are primarily made by trucks within the same country and by ship between countries. Our use of these delivery services for our shipments subjects us to many risks, including increases in fuel prices, which would increase our shipping costs, and employee strikes and inclement weather, which may impact our shippers’ ability to provide delivery services that adequately meet our shipping needs. If we change the shipping companies we use, we could face logistical difficulties that could delay deliveries, and we would incur costs and expend resources in connection with such change. Moreover, we may not be able to obtain terms as favorable as those received from our current independent third party transportation providers, which in turn would increase our costs.

Employee shortages and rising employee costs may harm our business and increase our operation costs.

As of March 31, 2018, we employed 209 persons (including 35 employees in locations outside of India) to perform a variety of functions in our daily operations. Lower labor costs in India provide us with a cost advantage. However, we have observed an overall tightening of the employee market and an emerging trend of shortage of labor supply. Failure to obtain stable and dedicated employee support may cause disruption to our business that harms our operations. Furthermore, employee costs have increased in India in recent years and may continue to increase in the near future. To remain competitive, we may need to increase the salaries of our employees to attract and retain them. Any increase in employee costs may harm our results of operations and financial condition.

Loss of key personnel or our inability to attract and retain additional key personnel could impair our ability to execute our growth strategy, harm our product development effort and delay our launch of new products.

Our business involves operations spanning a variety of disciplines and demanding a management team and employee workforce that is knowledgeable in many areas necessary for our operations. While we have been successful in attracting experienced, skilled professionals, the loss of any key member of our management team, or operational or product development employees, or the failure to attract and retain additional such employees, could slow the execution of our business strategy, including expansion into new target markets, and our development and commercialization of new products. If we are not able to attract and retain the necessary personnel to accomplish our business objectives, the resulting staffing constraints will harm our ability to expand, satisfy customer demands for our products and develop new products. Competition for such personnel from numerous companies may limit our ability to attract and retain them on acceptable terms, or at all, and we have no “key person” insurance to protect us from any losses of personnel.

Our operations are highly regulated in the areas of food safety and protection of human health and we may be subject to the risk of incurring compliance costs as well as the risk of potential claims and regulatory actions.

Our operations are subject to a broad range of foreign, national, provincial and local health and safety laws and regulations, including laws and regulations governing the use and disposal of pesticides and other chemicals. These regulations directly affect our day-to-day operations, and violations of these laws and regulations can result in substantial fines or penalties, which may significantly harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. For example, there has been a recent focus in the U.S. on the potential levels of arsenic in rice and the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has indicated that it will evaluate strategies designed to limit arsenic exposure from rice and rice products. In December 2013, FDA issued an import alert enabling it to detain shipments of Indian Basmati rice for compulsory testing for residue of certain pesticides. While Amira is currently exempted from the import alert, FDA’s interest in Indian Basmati rice could impact our business. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), which establishes the Maximum Residue Limit (“MRL”) for pesticide residue allowed in food imported into the U.S., has yet to set an MRL for most of the pesticides used by Indian farmers to protect Basmati rice from pests, it has recently set an import tolerance for tricyclazole in Indian Rice at 3.0 parts per million (“PPM”). For other pesticides without an MRL, however, if even 0.01 PPM are detected in any rice shipments into the U.S. they will be rejected by FDA. FDA’s enforcement activities have not, to date, materially affected our business or the results of our operations because our sales of Basmati rice in the United States have been limited, representing less than 13.0% in fiscal 2018. However, FDA’s regulatory activities may limit our growth in the U.S. Until FDA’s regulation of Basmati rice is resolved, there can be no assurance as to what additional measures, if any, may be taken by FDA or any other regulatory body and the impact of any such measures. To stay compliant with all of the laws and regulations that apply to our operations and products, we may be required in the future to modify our operations or make capital improvements. Our products may be subject to extensive examinations by governmental authorities before they are allowed to enter certain regulated markets, which may delay the processing or sale of our products or require us to take other actions, including product recalls, if we or the regulators believe any such product presents a potential risk. If we are granted access to any such regulated market, maintaining regulatory compliance there may be expensive and time consuming, and if approvals are later withdrawn for any reason, we may be required to abruptly stop marketing certain of our products there, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, we may in the future become subject to lawsuits alleging that our operations and products cause damage to human health.

We rely on certifications by industry standards-setting bodies; loss of a certification could reduce our sales.

Certifications are not compulsory in the rice industry. However, some of our customers require us to have one or more internationally recognized certification. We have received an ISO 9001:2008 quality system certification and an ISO 22000:2005 food safety management certification for our rice processing facility, and an SQF Certificate. In addition, we have received certifications from BRC Global Standards and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as being Kosher certified, and have received a certificate of approval for the export of Basmati rice by the Export Inspection Council of India. We incur significant costs and expenses, including any necessary upgrades to our manufacturing facilities, associated with maintaining these certifications. If we fail to maintain any of our certifications, our business may be harmed because our customers that require them may stop purchasing some or all of our products.

We also have organic certifications for our rice products from Ecocert India Private Limited, an international certification body that certifies our compliance with the requirements of the EU, Regulations and as per the USDA National Organic Program’s Organic Standards.

Our historical and future international sales to certain non-U.S. customers, including independent resellers, expose us to special risks associated with operating in particular countries. If we are not in compliance with applicable legal requirements, we may be subject to civil or criminal penalties and other remedial measures.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) administers certain laws and regulations, or U.S. Economic Sanctions Laws, that restrict U.S. persons and, in some instances, non-U.S. persons like us, in conducting activities, transacting business with or making investments in certain countries, governments, entities and individuals subject to U.S. economic sanctions, or sanctions targets. We did not used any proceeds, directly or indirectly, from our IPO to fund any activities or business with any sanctions target. In compliance with Indian laws, Amira India and our other non-U.S. subsidiaries have sold rice to independent non-U.S. customers in international markets that resell products to their own customers, which customers may have included private customers in Iran, Syria and other countries in the region. Iran and Syria are currently sanctions targets. In fiscal year 2018 and 2017, there were no sales to Iran, Syria and Sudan. Currently, direct and indirect sales of rice into Iran are allowed under an OFAC general license issued in October 2011. Sales of rice into Syria are not restricted by OFAC or by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, which primarily administers U.S. restrictions on exports or re-exports to Syria. Therefore, we believe we are in compliance with U.S. Economic Sanctions Laws. We believe that we conducted our historical activities in compliance with applicable U.S. Economic Sanctions Laws in all material respects; however, it is possible that U.S. authorities could view certain of our past transactions to have violated U.S. Economic Sanctions Laws. If our activities are found to violate applicable sanctions or other trade controls, we may be subject to potential fines or other sanctions. For example, a violation of OFAC’s Iran regulations could currently result in a civil monetary penalty of up to the greater of $250,000 or twice the value of the transaction involved. We intend to conduct our business activities in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. We will continue to monitor developments in countries that are the subject or target of any of these laws or regulations so that our sales to Sanction Targets will be conducted in compliance with all applicable law.

We are also subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), which prohibits U.S. companies and their intermediaries from bribing foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business or otherwise obtaining favorable treatment, and other laws concerning our international operations. Legislation in other jurisdictions contains similar prohibitions, although varying in both scope and jurisdiction. Although our U.S. subsidiary only transacts business in the U.S., we operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree, and, in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices, which may negatively impact our results of operations.

We have adopted and are in the process of continuous improvement and strengthening of the formal controls and procedures to ensure that we are in compliance with OFAC, FCPA and similar laws, regulations and sanctions. The implementation of such controls and procedures could result in the discovery of issues or violations with respect to the foregoing by us or our employees, independent contractors, subcontractors or agents of which we were previously unaware. Any violations of these laws, regulations and procedures by our employees, independent contractors, subcontractors and agents could expose us to administrative, civil or criminal penalties, fines or restrictions on export activities (including other U.S. and Indian laws and regulations as well as foreign laws). A violation of these laws and regulations, or even an alleged violation, could harm our reputation and cause some of our U.S. investors to sell their interests in our company to be consistent with their internal investment policies or to avoid reputational damage, and some U.S. institutional investors might forego the purchase of our ordinary shares, all of which may negatively impact the trading prices of our ordinary shares.

We may incur significant costs to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; failure to comply could expose us to significant liabilities.

We are subject to a variety of environmental, health and safety laws and regulations in India and in the other locations in which we operate. Although we have implemented procedures to comply with these laws and regulations, we cannot be sure that our measures are compliant or capable of eliminating the risk of injury or contamination from the use, generation, manufacture, or disposal of our products. In the event of contamination or injury, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our insurance coverage. Violations of environmental, health and safety laws may occur as a result of human error, accident, equipment failure or other causes. Environmental proceedings had been initiated against Amira India before the District Court, Gurgaon, India, alleging that Amira India’s failure to make proper arrangements for the disposal of ash and straw by products of its rice processing operations had caused air and noise pollution. We have taken corrective measures and. since then we have obtained renewal approvals under the Indian Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Indian Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the current approvals are valid until March, 31, 2021. However, similar or other allegations or legal proceedings may be initiated against us in the future relating to non-compliance with applicable environmental laws.

Compliance with applicable environmental health and safety laws and regulations may be expensive, and the failure to comply could result in the imposition of fines, regulatory oversight costs, third party property damage, product liability and personal injury claims, investigation and remediation costs, the suspension of production, or a cessation of operations, and our liability may exceed our total assets. We expect to encounter similar laws and regulations in most if not all of the countries in which we may seek to establish production capabilities or operate and the scope and nature of these laws and regulations will likely be different from country to country. Environmental, health and safety laws could become more stringent over time, requiring us to change our operations or incur greater compliance or capital costs, or could provide for increased penalties for violations, all of which could impair our research, development or production efforts and harm our business. The costs of complying with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and any claims concerning noncompliance, or liability arising thereunder, could significantly harm our results of operations or financial condition.

We may become subject to lawsuits or indemnity claims, including those related to class action suits, product contamination and product liability, which could harm our business and results of operations.

From time to time, we may be named as a defendant in lawsuits, claims and other legal proceedings. These actions may seek, among other things, compensation for alleged personal injury, workers’ compensation, employment discrimination, breach of contract, infringement of the intellectual property rights of others, or civil penalties and other losses of injunctive or declaratory relief. In the event that such actions or indemnities are ultimately resolved unfavorably for amounts exceeding our accrued liability, or are otherwise significant, the outcome could harm our reputation, business and results of operations. In addition, payments of significant amounts, even if reserved, could harm our liquidity.

In addition, the distribution and sale of our products involve an inherent risk of product liability claims and product recalls if our products become adulterated or misbranded, as well as any associated adverse publicity. Our products may contain undetected impurities or toxins that are not discovered until after the products have been consumed by customers. For instance, our products are subject to tampering and to contamination risks, such as mold, bacteria, insects and other pests. This could result in claims from our customers or others, or in a significant product recall, which could damage our business and reputation and involve significant costs to correct. In addition, these kinds of events could result in cancellation of contracts by our customers or the recall of products. We may also be sued for defects resulting from errors of our commercial partners or unrelated third parties, and any product liability claim brought against us, regardless of its merit, or product recall could result in material expense, divert management’s attention, and harm our business, reputation and consumer confidence in our products.

Our insurance policies may not protect us against all potential losses, which could harm our business and results of operations.

Operating our business involves many risks, which, if not adequately insured, could harm our business and results of operations.

We believe that the extent of our insurance coverage is consistent with industry practice. Our insurance policies include coverage for risks relating to personal accident, burglary, medical payments, product liability and marine cargo, including transit cover covering certain employees, office premises and consignments of rice. In addition, the inventory stored at our processing facility and warehouses is insured against fire and other perils such as earthquake, burglary and floods, and we have fire and allied perils insurance coverage for business interruptions at our milling facility. Additionally, we maintain insurance policies that provide coverage for class action litigation resulting from claims made against us in connection with the offer and sale of our securities. However, any claim under our insurance policies maintained by us may be subject to certain exceptions, may not be honored fully, in part, in a timely manner or at all, and we may not have purchased sufficient insurance to cover all losses that we may incur. For instance, a majority of our inventory consists of paddy and rice. In the event our inventory is not appropriately stored or is affected by fires or natural disasters such as floods, storms or earthquakes, our inventory may be damaged or destroyed, which would harm our results of operations. In addition, if we were to incur substantial liabilities or if our business operations were interrupted for a substantial period of time, we could incur costs and suffer losses. Our insurance policies may not cover such inventory and business interruption losses. Additionally, in the future, insurance coverage may not be available to us at commercially acceptable premiums, or at all.

We have been recently subject to short sale attacks which could harm our reputation and negatively affect our operations.

In February 2015 and July 2015, we were subject to short sale attacks by a short seller firm. As a result of the short sale attack, we have been subject to two shareholder class action lawsuits before the United States District Court for the Central District of California. See “ Business‒Legal Proceedings .” The short sale attack and the ensuing shareholder litigation, resulted in a significant decrease in the value of our shares, exposed us to significant litigation costs, diverted our management's attention from day-to-day operations and negatively affected our credibility and reputation, which in turn disrupted our operations and relationships and negatively impacted our ability to effectively market, distribute and sell our products in various jurisdictions and negative effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may be exposed to additional short sale attacks in the future which could result in operational and reputational harm, which in turn could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and credit ratings. See also “ Management's Discussion and Analysis of Our Financial Condition and Results of Operations‒Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations .”

Risks Related to Our Public Company Status

We are a foreign private issuer and, as a result, we are not subject to U.S. proxy rules and are subject to the Exchange Act reporting obligations that, to some extent, are more lenient and less frequent than those of a U.S. issuer.

Because we qualify and report as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. public companies, including (i) the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act, (ii) the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time, and (iii) the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, or current reports on Form 8-K, upon the occurrence of specified significant events. We intend to furnish reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 6-K which contain our six month results for the period ending September 30 of each year, for so long as we are subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13(g) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, although the information we furnish is not as frequent or the same as the information that is required in quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for U.S. domestic issuers. In addition, while U.S. domestic issuers that are not large accelerated filers or accelerated filers are required to file their annual reports on Form 10-K within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, for the fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2011, foreign private issuers are not required to file their annual report on Form 20-F until four months after the end of each fiscal year. Foreign private issuers are also exempt from Regulation Fair Disclosure, aimed at preventing issuers from making selective disclosures of material information. Although we intend to make interim reports available to our shareholders in a timely manner, investors in our securities may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are not foreign private issuers.

As a foreign private issuer and a controlled company, we are permitted to take advantage of certain exemptions to the corporate governance requirements of the New York Stock Exchange; this may afford less protection to holders of our ordinary shares.

Our ordinary shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. As a foreign private issuer, we may elect to follow certain home country (BVI) corporate governance practices in lieu of certain New York Stock Exchange requirements, including the requirements that (1) a majority of the Board of Directors consist of independent directors, (2) a nominating and corporate governance committee be established that is composed entirely of independent directors and has a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities, (3) a compensation committee be established that is composed entirely of independent directors and has a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities, and (4) an annual performance evaluation of the nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees be undertaken. A foreign private issuer must disclose in its annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission each significant New York Stock Exchange requirement with which it does not comply followed by a description of its applicable home country practice.

In addition, we are a controlled company, or a company of which more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors is held by an individual, a group or another company. As a controlled company, we are exempt from complying with certain corporate governance requirements of the New York Stock Exchange. A foreign private issuer is required to disclose in its annual report that it is a controlled company and the basis for that determination.

As a company incorporated in the BVI and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, we are meeting the New York Stock Exchange’s requirements without making use of the above-mentioned exemptions, unless otherwise disclosed. However, in the future we may rely on certain exemptions. Such practices may afford less protection to holders of our ordinary shares.

If we are unable to establish appropriate internal financial reporting controls and procedures, it could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations, result in the restatement of our financial statements, harm our operating results, subject us to regulatory scrutiny and sanction, cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and have a negative effect on the market price of our ordinary shares.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud. We maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting, which is defined as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurances regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with IFRS. We are aware that deficiencies in our internal controls may adversely affect our management’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data on a timely basis.

As a public company, we have significant additional requirements for enhanced financial reporting and internal controls. We are required to document and test our internal control procedures in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. In addition, we are required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to include an auditor’s attestation report on our internal control over financial reporting in our annual reports on Form 20-F.

On management testing done by us, no significant weaknesses was detected by the management. The process of designing and implementing effective internal controls is a continuous effort that requires us to anticipate and react to changes in our business and the economic and regulatory environments and to expend significant resources to maintain a system of internal controls that is adequate to satisfy our reporting obligations as a public company.

We cannot assure you that we will, in the future, identify areas requiring improvement in our internal control over financial reporting. We cannot assure you that the measures we will take to remediate any areas in need of improvement will be successful or that we will implement and maintain adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future as we continue our growth. If we are unable to establish appropriate internal financial reporting controls and procedures, it could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations, result in the restatement of our financial statements, harm our operating results, subject us to regulatory scrutiny and sanction, cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and have a negative effect on the market price of our ordinary shares.

We have incurred and will continue to incur increased costs as a result of being a public company.

As a public company, we have incurred, and will continue to incur, significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company, particularly after we no longer qualify as an “emerging growth company.” In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as new rules subsequently implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission, has required changes in corporate governance practices of public companies. These rules and regulations have increased our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs and make certain corporate activities more time-consuming and costly. In addition, we have incurred or may incur in future additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. We continue to evaluate and monitor developments with respect to these new rules, and we cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.