Apex Frozen Foods Ltd Company Summary

Apex Frozen Foods Ltd Summary

Apex Frozen Foods Limited is one of the integrated producer and exporter of processed, ready-to-cook, shrimp in India. It is fully integrated company with presence across the value chain - Hatchery, Farming, Processing and Exporting of Shrimp; the company operates 15,240 MTPA of processing capacity; 1,800 acres of farm land; breeding capacity of over 1bn Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) seeds; cold storage of 1,500 MT of finished goods. Farming of shrimp in 1,800 acres of land comprising of owned and leased basis contributes 18-20% of the companys total raw material requirement.The companys output majorly comprises of variants of processed Whiteleg shrimp (L.Vannamei) and small quantities of Black Tiger shrimp (P. Monodon) in frozen form; and is sold under the brands owned by customers and also through the companys own brands namely Bay Fresh, Bay Harvest and Bay Premium. The Company supplies its ready-to-cook products to a diversified customer base consisting of food companies, retail chains, restaurants, club stores and distributors spread across the developed markets of USA, UK and various European countries. The Company strategically focuses on the market of USA, which is the largest importer of aquaculture products in the world. The company is promoted by Karuturi Satyanarayana Murthy and Karuturi Subrahmanya Chowdary. For over two decades, promoters of the company have been associated with aquaculture business in Andhra Pradesh. Apex Frozen Foods Limited was originally formed as partnership on October 24, 1995 under the name Apex Exports. The firm leased a shrimp processing facility and commenced operations in the year 1995. Later in 2004, Apex Exports set up its own shrimp processing facility. During the year under review, Apex Exports commenced exports to US markets. In 2006, Apex Exports commenced exports to European market. During the year under review, Apex Exports received approval from Export Inspection Counsel of India for export to all countries including European Union (EU).In 2007, Apex Exports received Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point for shrimp processing by SGS India Private Limited. During the year under review, Apex Exports received Certification for Global Standard for Food Safety for Shrimp processing by SGS United Kingdom.In 2008, Apex Exports received Best Aquaculture Practices certificate from Accreditation Committee of Aquaculture Certification Counsel Inc.Apex Exports was converted from a partnership firm into a private limited company with the name Apex Frozen Foods Private Limited on March 30, 2012.In 2013, the company displayed its products in Seafood Expo Global held in Brussels. In 2014, the company commenced work for setting up of additional pre processing facilities at Tallarevu. During the year under review, the company commenced in-house farming operations for shrimp cultivation. In 2015, the company received a certificate of recognition- three star export house from Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Visakhapatnam, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.In 2016, the company set up a pre-processing unit at Tallarevu for meeting additional demands. The Company was converted into a public limited company with the name Apex Frozen Foods Limited on November 29, 2016.In 2017, the company commenced farming of shrimp in over 1000 acres of land comprising of owned and leased basis.The company came out with an initial public offer (IPO) during the period from 22 August 2017 to 24 August 2017. The IPO was a combination of fresh issue of 72.50 lakh shares and offer for sale of 14.50 lakh shares by promoter shareholders. The stock debuted at Rs 199.90 on BSE on 4 September 2017, a premium of 14.22% compared with the IPO price of Rs 175 per share. On 23 January 2018, Apex Frozen Foods Limited informed the stock exchanges that the Income Tax Department has conducted search/survey on the premises of the company and on KMPs on 18 to 20 January 2018. The company and management extended cooperation to the Income Tax Authorities, further to submit that there is no information discovered which would have a significant impact on the conduct of business of the company. Any information which is considered to be of material impact in nature discovered subsequently will be intimated to the stock exchanges.