Latest / Investor Exchange / ANAN International: First Quarter 2025 Financial Report
Transcript
- 0:02Time for another Investor Exchange podcast. Here are your hosts, Matt and Sally.
- 0:08Okay, let's jump straight into this. Today, we're taking a deep dive into the
- 0:13recent financial performance of Anand International Limited AAI,
- 0:17let's call them. Sounds good.
- 0:19We've got their condensed interim financial statements here covering the first
- 0:23three months of their fiscal year 2025. That's right.
- 0:25So this is basically the report card for Q1 ending March 31st, 2025.
- 0:31And we'll be setting it against the same period in 2024 to see what's changed. Exactly.
- 0:36And our goal here isn't just to read out numbers. We really want to cut through
- 0:39the standard financial jargon and figure out the story behind these figures.
- 0:44What's it tell us about their main business, their financial health,
- 0:48cash flow, and maybe most importantly, what they see coming up?
- 0:52Yeah, getting a clear picture.
- 0:53We'll look at the key numbers, sure, but also really dig into the why.
- 0:56What drove the results this quarter? What does that suggest about where they're
- 1:00headed? All right, so let's start at the very top, revenue, the money coming in.
- 1:04How did AAI do there this quarter compared to last year?
- 1:08Okay, looking at the income statement, revenue did see a slight dip.
- 1:11It's down about 3% from roughly U.S.
- 1:15$563 million in Q1 2024 to U.S.
- 1:20$545 million this year. Okay, a bit of a drop in sales. Did the report say why?
- 1:25What was the main reason for that?
- 1:26It points pretty directly to their fuel distribution side of the Dinef Group,
- 1:30mainly operating in France and Spain.
- 1:32The main driver was lower sales volumes, and they link that to,
- 1:36well, a decline in customer demand in those markets.
- 1:39Less fuel being bought, so less revenue coming in. Makes sense.
- 1:43Is that surprising, though, given everything we hear about energy transition?
- 1:46Well, not entirely surprising, no. The report itself kind of hints at this later on.
- 1:50Yeah. You know, the global push for renewables, changing consumer habits.
- 1:54These things are definitely creating headwinds for traditional fuel sellers.
- 1:57So a tough environment. Yeah.
- 1:59So this specific quarterly dip fits into that broader trend, you could say.
- 2:03Okay. Let's move down the income statement then. What about the cost of the
- 2:06goods they actually sold?
- 2:07Cost of sales also went down, dropped by about 4%, landing at around U.S., $523 million.
- 2:14Which seems logical, right? If revenue is down because you sold less volume.
- 2:18Exactly. Your direct costs to get that stuff should generally go down too,
- 2:22pretty much in line. Now, here's where it gets maybe a bit unexpected.
- 2:25Despite that lower revenue, their gross profit actually went up.
- 2:29Yeah, that's the interesting. Up by a pretty solid 12 percent from about U.S.
- 2:35$19.8 million to U.S. $22.1 million.
- 2:40How does that work? Higher profit on lower sales. Right. This is definitely
- 2:43a key point in the report.
- 2:45It signals, you know, maybe better efficiency or perhaps favorable market conditions
- 2:49for them. Also, the reason for the higher gross profit, even with less revenue,
- 2:54was basically an improvement in their gross profit margin.
- 2:57Ah, the percentage they make on each sale. Exactly. That margin widened.
- 3:01From 3.5% in Q1 last year to 4.1% in Q1 this year.
- 3:06So making more sense on every dollar sold, even with fewer dollars coming in,
- 3:10that's quite something.
- 3:11Does the report explain how they manage that?
- 3:13It does. It specifically says this improvement was because their Dynef group
- 3:17managed to get more favorable supply terms.
- 3:21And on top of that, they faced less competition during the period.
- 3:24Okay, so two things working for them. Better buying prices, maybe?
- 3:28Or competitors easing off? Could be other or likely a bit of both.
- 3:32Getting better terms when buying fuel or maybe the competitive pressure wasn't
- 3:36as intense, allowing them to hold prices better relative to their costs.
- 3:41That suggests maybe some strength in their purchasing power or perhaps they
- 3:45found some less competitive spots in the market.
- 3:47Does it say if this is a temporary thing? The report doesn't really speculate
- 3:50on how long it'll last, but the fact they highlight it suggests it was a big deal this quarter.
- 3:55Maintaining those kinds of terms usually takes ongoing effort,
- 3:58and competition can always heat up again.
- 4:01But yeah, definitely a positive operational win for Q1. We'll have to watch if it continues.
- 4:06Yeah, it shows that even if volumes are tricky, focusing on margins can really help the bottom line.
- 4:13Okay, let's look beyond the cost of the fuel itself. What about other operating
- 4:17costs, selling and distribution expenses?
- 4:20Those actually decreased, down by 9%, falling from about U.S.
- 4:24$23.5 million to U.S. $21.3 million.
- 4:28And why was that? The report mentions cost control efforts by the group.
- 4:32Specifically, they cut back on tools and supplies by about U.S. $1.5 million.
- 4:37And also trim staff costs by around U.S. $4.65 million.
- 4:41So actively managing spending to get the product out, that kind of fits the
- 4:45efficiency theme we saw with the margins.
- 4:47What about admin costs, general overheads, that sort of thing?
- 4:50Ah, administrative expenses actually went the other way. They increased by 15 percent.
- 4:54Not a huge amount in dollars from U.S. $1.03 million to U.S.
- 4:57$1.19 million, but still an increase.
- 5:00Why the increase there? The reason given is higher professional and consultancy
- 5:04fees. And the interesting part is why they needed those consultants.
- 5:07It was for due diligence work on potential acquisition projects. Ah, OK.
- 5:11So cutting costs and day-to-day operations, but spending a bit more on exploring
- 5:15growth, looking to potentially buy other companies. Exactly.
- 5:19Ties right into their strategy for the future, which we should definitely circle back to.
- 5:22Good point. What about other bits and pieces on the income statement,
- 5:26like finance costs, interest payments? Finance expenses saw a really significant
- 5:31drop, down by 37 percent.
- 5:33Fell from U.S. $2.33 million to U.S. $1.47 million.
- 5:38Wow, that's a big saving. How come? The report links it directly to repaying
- 5:42bank loans and borrowings during the quarter. Makes sense. Pay down debt, pay less interest.
- 5:46It also kind of suggests they had the cash or the means to make those repayments,
- 5:50right? That's a fair assumption.
- 5:52It implies they felt comfortable enough with their working capital to reduce
- 5:55their borrowing, especially the short-term kind. Okay.
- 5:58And one more line item here, their share of results from associates and joint
- 6:01ventures, like stakes in other businesses.
- 6:03Yeah, that one wasn't as positive. It decreased by 64%, falling from about U.S.
- 6:08$1 million down to just U.S. $0.36 million.
- 6:12The report mainly blames this on a drop about U.S. $0.64 million in the profits
- 6:17shared from one particular joint venture they have in China. So a mixed bag there.
- 6:21Lower finance costs are good. Lower JV contributions are not so good.
- 6:24But putting it all together...
- 6:26What was the final result, the net loss for the period?
- 6:30Well, the headline news on the bottom line is actually an improvement.
- 6:33The net loss for Q1 2025 was lower than in Q1 2024.
- 6:37Lower loss, so better performance overall. Exactly.
- 6:40The loss decreased from U.S. $4.09 million last year down to U.S.
- 6:45$2.32 million this year.
- 6:48So they cut their loss by almost half. What were the main things driving that improvement?
- 6:53The report points back to those key factors we talked about,
- 6:55That higher gross profit margin making more on each sale and the savings from
- 6:59lower selling and distribution costs and those reduced finance expenses,
- 7:03particularly from the fuel business. Got it.
- 7:05Those positives were apparently strong enough to more than make up for the lower
- 7:07revenue and that drop in JV income.
- 7:09So the profit and loss story is really one of, OK, facing revenue pressure in
- 7:13the main market, but managing to boost profitability through better margins,
- 7:17tighter cost control and paying down some debt, kind of adapting by focusing
- 7:22inward. Yeah, I think that sums it up well.
- 7:24Shows some operational resilience, even when the top line is shrinking a bit.
- 7:27Okay, good summary of the performance over the quarter.
- 7:30Let's switch now to the company's financial position at a specific moment, the balance sheet.
- 7:35Comparing end of March 2025 to the end of December 2024.
- 7:40What they own, what they owe. Right, the snapshot picture. Overall,
- 7:45total assets edged up slightly over those three months. from about U.S.
- 7:50$449.5 million to U.S. $464.7 million.
- 7:55Not a huge jump. Let's break that down. What about current assets,
- 7:58the stuff they expect to use or turn into cash within a year?
- 8:00Current assets actually increased by a bit more, around U.S. $11.9 million overall.
- 8:05But there were some really interesting shifts within that category.
- 8:08Tells a story about what they were doing. Okay, late on us. What were the big movers?
- 8:12Well, trade and other receivables jumped up significantly by almost U.S. $29 million.
- 8:17So money owed to them by customers shot up? Why?
- 8:20The report says this is mainly because a wholesale distribution subsidiary sold
- 8:24off inventories that it had been holding in storage.
- 8:26Oh, okay. So they sold a bunch of stuff on credit. Pretty much.
- 8:30The sale happens, it becomes a receivable first, then hopefully the cash comes
- 8:33in later. Which leads nicely to the next point.
- 8:37Inventory. Right. If receivables went up because they sold inventory from storage,
- 8:41I'd guess inventory went down. You got it.
- 8:43Yeah. Inventories decreased by about U.S. $11.2 million.
- 8:47And the reason given, higher inventory turnover during the period. Makes perfect sense.
- 8:53Moved product out the door, turned it into receivables. That sounds like positive activity generally.
- 8:58Yeah, usually seen as a good sign moving goods efficiently. What about cold,
- 9:01hard cash? Cash and cash equivalents.
- 9:04That line item decreased by about U.S. $6.25 million.
- 9:08And as we kind of hinted at before when talking about lower finance costs.
- 9:12Ah, used to pay down debt.
- 9:14Exactly. The report says the decrease was mainly due to repayment of borrowings.
- 9:18So cash went out to reduce their debt levels. Okay.
- 9:21There was also an increase in amounts due from related parties.
- 9:24What's that about? Yeah, that went up by about U.S. $1.5 million.
- 9:28The report explains this is mostly advances that one of their entities,
- 9:33Dynuf Sass, gave to a joint venture, partly for capital spending.
- 9:37Like funding an investment in that JV.
- 9:39Seems like it. And it also mentions the JV is trying to get its own long-term financing sorted out.
- 9:45So these advances might just be, you know, a temporary bridge loan from the
- 9:49parent. Okay, so current assets show strong sales activity, using cash for debt,
- 9:54and some intercompany funding.
- 9:56What about the other side, current liabilities, the bills due soon?
- 9:59Current liabilities saw a small overall increase, by U.S. $6.7 million.
- 10:04But again, like with assets, there was a really big swing within one particular
- 10:08category. Which one jumped out? Trade and other payables.
- 10:12It increased massively by almost U.S. $49 million. Wow.
- 10:16That's money they owe to suppliers, right? Why such a big jump?
- 10:19Yes, mostly money owed to suppliers.
- 10:21And the explanation of the report is fascinating, actually. It says the increase
- 10:25is mainly due to the resumption of normal credit terms with their suppliers.
- 10:29Normal credit terms, meaning? It contrasts this with the situation at the end
- 10:33of December 2024, where they apparently had shorter payment periods recquainted from them.
- 10:38Ah. So maybe back at year end, things were tighter, or suppliers were asking
- 10:42for faster payment, and now they're back to standard payment schedules.
- 10:45That's exactly what it sounds like.
- 10:47Could mean suppliers feel more comfortable extending credit again,
- 10:50maybe seeing AAI as more stable.
- 10:52Or it could just be AAI managing their cash by taking the full payment period offered now.
- 10:58Either way, it's a specific detail about working capital. That is interesting,
- 11:02a tangible sign of changing dynamics.
- 11:05What about the other side of current liabilities? Loans and borrowings do soon.
- 11:10Those decreased significantly by nearly U.S. $42 million.
- 11:14Which fits perfectly with the cash decrease and the lower finance costs,
- 11:18right? They paid down short-term debt.
- 11:19Precisely. Paid down bank overdrafts and short-term loans. You can really see
- 11:23how the balance sheet movements tie into the income statement and cash flow.
- 11:27Any big changes in non-current liabilities, long-term debt?
- 11:30There was an increase there, about U.S. $7.5 million, mainly driven by an increase
- 11:35in non-current loans and borrowings.
- 11:37So it looks like while they reduced short-term debt, they took on a bit more
- 11:40long-term debt, maybe restructuring things a bit. Okay.
- 11:43So putting it all together, assets up slightly, liabilities managed with big
- 11:47shifts between payables and short-term debt.
- 11:49How did the owner's stake, the net assets, end up? Net assets attributable to
- 11:56the owners increased slightly, went from U.S.
- 11:58$93.1 million at the end of 2024 to U.S.
- 12:02$95.4 million at the end of March 2025, which translates to a small uptick in
- 12:08the net asset value per share from 2.20 U.S.
- 12:11Cents to 2.254 U.S. cents. So bottom line on the balance sheet,
- 12:15despite the revenue headwinds, their net asset position improved a little over
- 12:19the quarter, heavily influenced by those working capital moves,
- 12:22selling inventory, managing receivables and payables, and shifting debt around.
- 12:26That's the picture, yeah. The changes really reflect the operational activity
- 12:29and the financial management choices they made during those three months. Right.
- 12:32We've hit the P&L for performance, the balance sheet for position.
- 12:35Now for the arguably most critical part, the cash flow.
- 12:39Where did the actual money come from and where did it go? Liquidity is king, right?
- 12:43Absolutely. And this is an area where AAI showed real strength this quarter.
- 12:47Net cash generated from operating activities, so from the core business,
- 12:52increased significantly. How significant?
- 12:54It went from about U.S. $18.8 million generated in Q1 2024 up to a very healthy U.S.
- 13:01$35.3 million in Q1 2025. Almost double. Wow. Okay.
- 13:06Generating way more cash from day-to-day operations. What fueled that big jump?
- 13:10The report points directly back to those two big balance sheet moves we just
- 13:14discussed, the reduction in inventories and that huge increase in trade and other payables.
- 13:19Okay, connect the dots for us. How do lower inventory and higher payables generate cash? Sure.
- 13:24So when you reduce inventory sell more than you replace, you're essentially
- 13:28turning physical stock back into cash, or at least into a receivable that will
- 13:31hopefully become cash soon.
- 13:33So that U.S. $11 million drop in inventory freed up cash. And simultaneously,
- 13:37when your trade payables go up, meaning you take longer or return to standard
- 13:42terms to pay your suppliers, you're effectively holding onto your cash for longer.
- 13:46That big U.S. $49 million increase in payables meant AAI kept that cash sitting
- 13:51in its accounts instead of paying it out immediately.
- 13:54Right. So that efficiency in moving inventory combined with stretching out supplier
- 13:59payments back to normal levels directly resulted in much stronger operating cash flow.
- 14:04It's not just profit. It's the actual cash timing. Exactly.
- 14:08And generating that much cash from operations gives them really important financial
- 14:13flexibility, especially, you know, for a company facing those market headwinds
- 14:16and planning strategic changes.
- 14:18OK, so strong cash coming in from operations. How did that impact their investing activities?
- 14:23Buying assets, acquisitions, that sort of thing.
- 14:25Net cash used in investing activities actually decreased quite a bit from nearly U.S.
- 14:30$6 million used in Q1 last year down to just U.S.
- 14:33$2 million used this Q1. And the reason. Pretty straightforward,
- 14:37according to the report.
- 14:38It was simply the absence of any acquisitions of subsidiaries in France during
- 14:43this particular quarter.
- 14:44They spent money on that last year, but not this year. Fair enough.
- 14:48What about financing activities, dealing with debt and equity?
- 14:51Net cash used in financing activities also dropped significantly, from over U.S.
- 14:57$10.5 million used last year to just U.S. $2.4 million used this year.
- 15:02What was the main factor there? less debt repayment. Actually,
- 15:05the key driver was the receipt of new loan proceeds.
- 15:09They took in about U.S. $7.8 million in new loans during the period.
- 15:13Ah, OK. So, yes, they were repaying some debt like that short-term stuff we
- 15:17saw on the balance sheet, but they also brought in some new financing.
- 15:20The net result was a much lower outflow of cash related to financing compared to Q1 2024.
- 15:25So it looks like they were actively juggling their debt, paying some off,
- 15:29taking some new loans on, maybe optimizing their capital structure or funding something specific.
- 15:33That's what the cash flow statement suggests. Yeah.
- 15:36Strong cash from operations gave them room to maneuver with both investing outflows,
- 15:40which happened to be lower anyway, and financing activities like paying down
- 15:44certain debts while maybe taking on others.
- 15:48The final line on the cash flow statement usually shows the overall change in
- 15:51cash. The source mentions a negative figure there, U.S.
- 15:55$2.32 million for the period.
- 15:58How does that square with the strong operating cash flow? Good question.
- 16:02That negative figure at the bottom represents the net impact of all three activities
- 16:06operating, investing, and financing combined.
- 16:09It means that overall, their total cash position, including any bank overdrafts
- 16:13they were using, decreased slightly over the quarter. So even though operations
- 16:17generated a lot of cash. Right.
- 16:19That cash was then used for investing, less than last year, for net financing
- 16:23activities, including debt repayments offset by new loans.
- 16:26And the snapshot at the end of March showed they had about U.S.
- 16:29$30 million in cash and bank balances, but were utilizing about U.S.
- 16:33$32.6 million in bank overdrafts at that moment.
- 16:37Ah, so the overdraft usage pulled the net position slightly negative at quarter end? Exactly.
- 16:42The strong operating cash flow is crucial because it allowed them to manage
- 16:45everything else, repay debt, handle outflows.
- 16:48But the final balance snapshot just happened to show more overdraft used than positive cash on hand.
- 16:54Got it. That clarifies things. The operating cash generation itself is the positive
- 16:59sign about the core business's health this period. Definitely.
- 17:03It shows their ability to fund ongoing operations and potentially those strategic
- 17:08moves they're planning. Okay, perfect lead-in. We've picked apart the past quarter.
- 17:12Let's look forward now. What does AAI's report say about the industry they're
- 17:16in and their own outlook?
- 17:18Well, it paints a pretty clear and I'd say realistic picture.
- 17:22It highlights that the oil distribution sector in France and Spain is going
- 17:27through a major transformation.
- 17:28No surprise there. Right. They point to the big factors. The global push for
- 17:32renewables, market consolidation happening, consumers shifting preferences towards
- 17:36cleaner energy, and just general global economic uncertainty adding complexity.
- 17:41Those are definitely big challenges, especially if your main business has historically
- 17:45been selling traditional fuels.
- 17:48So what's their plan? What's the Dynav Group's strategy to deal with this?
- 17:52Their strategy, as laid out, seems multi-pronged.
- 17:56First, they say they want to maintain their current market position and customer
- 17:59base in oil distribution. Okay, hold on to the core business.
- 18:03Yeah, don't abandon the foundation while you figure out the future.
- 18:06But critically, the second point is they're explicitly looking to diversify
- 18:11their energy distribution activities.
- 18:13Diversify. To meet those evolving demands and the changing energy mix.
- 18:17This is the real strategic pivot, right?
- 18:19Moving beyond just oil. Does it give specifics?
- 18:22Like diversifying into renewable fuels, EV charging, natural gas.
- 18:28This section of the report doesn't detail the exact forms of energy,
- 18:31but it does connect this diversification goal back to pursuing growth through acquisitions. Uh-huh.
- 18:36Back to those consultancy fees for due diligence. Exactly. It strongly suggests
- 18:40they might be looking to buy companies already playing in those newer energy
- 18:44spaces rather than trying to build everything from scratch internally.
- 18:47Makes sense as a strategy.
- 18:49Buy your way into the new market. And what's the ultimate goal they state?
- 18:53The stated long-term aim is to transform themselves from being primarily an
- 18:57oil distributor into becoming a broader energy service provider.
- 19:01That's a big shift in identity and operations. A very ambitious goal.
- 19:06So given these industry challenges and this big transformation plan,
- 19:10what's their overall feeling about the near future?
- 19:13Optimistic. Decimistic. They describe their overall outlook as cautious,
- 19:18mostly because of those global economic uncertainties. Fair enough.
- 19:22But they stress that their focus remains squarely on executing that strategy,
- 19:27holding the core, diversifying, looking for acquisitions.
- 19:30They see this as key to staying competitive and resilient over the next year or so.
- 19:35So it sounds like they know the challenges are real, but they have a plan,
- 19:38even if they're cautious about the overall economy.
- 19:41Yeah. And you could argue that the Q1 results, particularly the improved margins,
- 19:45the cost control, the strong operating cash flow, maybe give them a slightly
- 19:49better financial footing to actually start this transformation.
- 19:52That's a really good point. That strong cash generation from operations,
- 19:56even if helped by working capital shifts this quarter, provides fuel,
- 20:00so to speak, for the pivot, whether that's internal investment or funding those
- 20:04potential acquisitions.
- 20:06But it does raise that fundamental question, doesn't it?
- 20:08Can really solid financial management of the old business generate enough power
- 20:13to successfully transition into a whole new energy world. Exactly.
- 20:17Managing decline efficiently is one thing. Building the next growth engine is
- 20:21another challenge altogether.
- 20:23So this Q1 report gives us the starting line.
- 20:26Core business under pressure was showing some financial strength and a clear ambition to change.
- 20:31Future reports will be crucial to see if the strategy is gaining traction.
- 20:35OK, let's quickly recap our deep dive on AN International's Q1 2025 then.
- 20:40We saw revenue dip due to lower fuel demand, but surprisingly,
- 20:43the bottom line loss improved significantly.
- 20:46Yeah, thanks to better gross margins, getting good supply terms,
- 20:49facing less competition, plus good control over operating costs and lower finance expenses.
- 20:53The balance sheet showed lots of action, especially inventory turning into receivables
- 20:57and payables stretching back out to normal terms, which was interesting.
- 21:01And those working capital moves were key to feeling that big jump in cash generated
- 21:07from operations. Right.
- 21:09Investing was quieter this quarter, no acquisitions yet, but the strategy is
- 21:14clearly focused on becoming a broader energy service provider using diversification
- 21:19and M&A, even with a cautious overall economic outlook.
- 21:23That pretty much captures the key takeaways from the financials they released.
- 21:26Right. So here's something to shoe on as we wrap up. This planned transformation,
- 21:31moving away from the traditional fuel core to become an energy service provider, it's huge, right?
- 21:36So is the Q1 performance showing efficiency in the old business and generating
- 21:41cash from working capital?
- 21:43Is that a genuine launchpad for this massive shift?
- 21:46Or is it just making the best of a tough situation, a kind of temporary holding pattern?
- 21:51And thinking ahead, what specific signs or numbers, maybe beyond just the usual
- 21:56revenue and profit figures, should we be looking for in their future reports
- 22:00to really tell if AI is successfully making that difficult pivot?
- 22:04What would signal real progress in becoming that new kind of energy company? What stands out?
- 22:08Music.