14 May 2008 - For the first quarter of 2008, Chinese apple juice concentrate maker Yantai North Andre Juice Co.'s turnover increased to approximately RMB 532.6 million (USD 76.3 million), an increase of approximately RMB 207.8 million or 64%, compared to Q1 2007.
Meanwhile, the group’s net profit during Q1 2008 increased to approximately RMB 111 million (USD 16 million), an increase of approximately RMB 83 million or 297%, compared to the corresponding period in 2007.
Andre Juice claims that the significant 297% increase in net profit is mainly attributable to the increase in the selling price of its products.
The group also said that it enhanced its cooperation with international financial institutions to “appropriately increase the proportion of US dollar in the loan portfolio as a whole”.
Andre Juice senior management believes that such long-term and short-term US dollar funding arrangements can reduce the Group’s exchange rate risk and finance cost, and can facilitate better business development.
During the first quarter of 2008, the company continued to expand its sales network to major countries and regions in the world, including the US, Japan, some European countries as well as the Chinese market.
To grow its market share, the apple-juice-concentrate producer said that it is optimising its customer profile by taking advantage of insufficient product supply that has occurred over recent years. The firm’s customer base includes some of the renowned global beverage manufacturers, it added.
Andre Juice made it to the media spotlight in March when FLEXNEWS reported that the Chinese firm had signed an agreement to form its second joint venture with Austria’s Agrana to set up Yongji Andre Juice Co. Ltd., based in Yongji, China. Each partner holds a 50% interest in the venture. The
The plant in Yongji, with a processing capacity of 140,000 tonnes of apples per year, started production in July 2007. The joint venture partners are planning to double the plant’s capacity by 2009, Agrana said in March.
To strengthen its position in existing markets, Andre Juice announced that it would focus on market diversification.
“In respect of the overseas market, apart from strengthening its US market and the developed European market and Japanese market, the Group is actively liaising with its various customers with a view to achieving further breakthroughs in the European, North American, Asian and even Australian markets. At the same time, the Group will actively promote its products in the domestic PRC market”, the company said.
To meet the growing demand for juice concentrate both in local and overseas markets, Andre Juice further declared that it would continue to increase and expand its production lines as well as its production capacity.
With a view to expand capacity, the group is planning to build a new production line at Xianyang Andre and to renovate a production line at Muping Andre.
Upon completion of such expansion, Andre Juice will then have 13 modern production lines for fruit juice, and reach an annual production capacity of 310,000 tons before the start of the new pressing season.
Finally, to meet increasing demand for apple pulp in the international market, Andre Juice plans to build a new production line with an annual capacity of 10,000 tons at its Muping site.
Andre Juice is aiming to cash in on its growth and significant financial position by targeting “small and medium enterprises in the industry, domestic or abroad, to further increase the group’s annual production capacity for juice concentrate through capital activities such as mergers and acquisitions and to strengthen its leading position in the industry”.
The company is also specialised in the production of pectin, mainly used in food as a gelling agent in jams and jellies, but also in fillings, sweets, and as a stabiliser in fruit juices and milk drinks.
Providing an overview of its pectin operations, Andre Juice said that the production equipment of the Yantai plant with an annual production capacity of 2,000 tons had successfully commenced mass production.
Furthermore, on the basis of the successful mass production of the current pectin production line, the firm is planning to start the construction of a second pectin production line as soon as possible to increase the production capacity of pectin to 4,000 tons per annum.
Only established since 1996, Yantai North Andre Juice Co., Ltd. has concentrated juice processing bases in Shandong, Shaanxi, Jiangsu and Liaoning of China. The company also has branches and offices in China, Hong Kong, the US (Los Angeles), Canada (Vancouver) and the UK (BVI Islands).
The company invested more than RMB 20 million (about USD 3 million) in a modern R&D Centre. Andre Juice has also obtained ISO9000 Quality System and HACCP Certification and has passed US FDA, Europe SGF, Kosher and US FPA Certification.
At present, over 95% products of the company are exported to US, Canada, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
Yantai HQ in Shandong Province