BEIJING, Jan. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Origin Agritech Limited (NASDAQ: SEED) ("Origin" or the "Company"), a technology-focused supplier of crop seeds in China, today announced unaudited financial results for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014. These unaudited year end results reflect the Company's consolidated financial statements during the period from October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014. Origin prepares its consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of the United States.

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Operating Activities and Results

Fiscal 2014 was a transition year for both the agricultural biotechnology and conventional seed industries in China. For the genetically modified technologies, there are indications that the Chinese government is starting to promote GM technologies and is trying to educate the public about the safety of these technologies. In reaction, however, the public debate about GM technologies in China heated up significantly in the media, mostly on the Chinese Internet, as some celebrities joined the debate. For the conventional seed industry, fiscal year 2014 represented a very challenging year as the industry wide inventory levels reached historic highs at the beginning of the selling season. However, a resulting inventory destocking, which we believe is occurring, is expected to improve the supply/demand ratio for the 2015 planting season.

More importantly, Origin has made significant progress on the biotechnology front and has made operational improvements as we faced the challenges in the seed industry during fiscal year 2014. Our GM corn product pipelines now include not only the phytase transgenic corn seed, but we now have glyphosate tolerance corn seed, next generation corn seed products of stacked glyphosate tolerance and insect resistance traits and other GM products in different stages of government safety approval. For our conventional seed business, we have weathered through the challenging market, and we were able to increase our core corn seed sales volume by 10% year over year in fiscal year 2014 (excluding scrap sales and our contract production business). Looking forward, we believe that we have prepared Origin for the expected market recovery in 2015 with improved operating efficiency and promising new seed product pipelines.

Biotechnology Progress. In fiscal year 2014, Origin further advanced its GM corn seed pipeline with several generations of GM technologies. In addition to our progress with the regulatory approvals, we have made significant progress in the backcrossing of our GM traits into our hybrid corn varieties. Since we started licensing programs of our GM technologies to large multinational companies several years ago, we have achieved desirable results in the backcrossing programs to incorporate our GM traits into the corn varieties of the multinational companies. Backcrossing is a necessary step to commercialize GM corn seed products and it often takes several years to achieve the optimal results. We believe that our backcrossing programs are progressing well, and we are now much closer to the commercialization of GM technologies of our first generation GM product phytase corn and our second generation product glyphosate tolerance transgenic corn seed. Our new technologies, including insect resistance (Bacillus Thuringiensis, or Bt) and stacked traits of glyphosate tolerance and insect resistance, are in various stages of regulatory approval. The attached chart is a simplified summary of the current stages of our key GM pipelines.

Furthermore, we have made significant achievement in our biotechnologies intellectual property protections. We were awarded three domestic patents in fiscal year 2014: 1) Method for Developing Glyphosate-Resistant Maize (ZL201210107400.1); 2) A Glyphosate-Resistant Protein G2-aorA Monoclonal Antibody and the Use Thereof (ZL201210107179.1), and 3) Method for Detecting Glyphosate-Resistant Protein G2-aorA and Dedicated ELISA Kit (ZL201210107406.0). We now have a total of 6 domestic patents and one PCT patent, as listed in the table below. During the fiscal year 2014, we applied for three additional patents in China: 1) Method and the Primer Pairs for Detecting Glyphosate-Resistant Maize G1105E-823C Expressing G2-aroA Gene (201410267596.1); 2) The Primer Pairs to Detect Glyphosate-Resistant Maize G1105E-823C Expressing G2-aroA Gene (201410268436.9); and 3) The Primer Pairs Used for Detecting Glyphosate-Resistant Maize G1105E-823C Expressing G2-aroA Gene (201410268258.X). We believe these patents will strengthen further our leading position in the GM seed technologies in China.



                      Patent/Patent       Patent/Patent application title         Date applied       Country
                   Application number
                   ------------------

    ZL201210107400.1                   METHOD FOR DEVELOPING GLYPHOSATE-
                                       RESISTANT MAIZE                        Apr 12, 2012     China
    ----------------                  ----------------------------------      ------------     -----

    ZL201210107179.1                   A GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT PROTEIN G2-
                                       aorA MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY AND THE USE
                                       THEREOF                                Apr 12, 2012     China
    ----------------                  -------------------------------------   ------------     -----

    ZL201210107406.0                   METHOD FOR DETECTING GLYPHOSATE-
                                       RESISTANT PROTEIN G2-aorA AND
                                       DEDICATED ELISA KIT                    Apr 12, 2012     China
    ----------------                  ---------------------------------       ------------     -----

    ZL201210107071.2                   A SYNTHETIC GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT GENE
                                       AND THE USE THEREOF                    Apr 12, 2012     China
    ----------------                  --------------------------------------  ------------     -----

    ZL201210107195.0                   A GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT GENE
                                       RECOMBINATE FRAGEMENT AND THE USE
                                       THEREOF                                Apr 12, 2012     China
    ----------------                  ----------------------------------      ------------     -----

    ZL201210107425.3                   A SYNTHETIC GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT GENE
                                       EXPRESSION VECTOR AND THE USE THEREOF  Apr 12, 2012     China
    ----------------                  --------------------------------------  ------------     -----

    PCT/CN2013/000428                  A SYNTHETIC GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT GENE
                                       AND THE USE THEREOF                    Apr 12, 2013     PCT
    -----------------                 --------------------------------------  ------------     ---

    201410267596.1                     METHOD AND THE PRIMER PAIRS FOR
                                       DETECTING GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT MAIZE
                                       G1105E-823C EXPRESSING G2-aroA GENE    Jun 16, 2014     China
    --------------                    -------------------------------------   ------------     -----

    201410268436.9                     THE PRIMER PAIRS TO DETECT GLYPHOSATE-
                                       RESISTANT MAIZE G1105E-823C
                                       EXPRESSING G2-aroA GENE                Jun 16, 2014     China
    --------------                    --------------------------------------- ------------     -----

    201410268258.X                     THE PRIMER PAIRS USED FOR DETECTING
                                       GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT MAIZE G1105E-
                                       823C EXPRESSING G2-aroA GENE           Jun 16, 2014     China
    --------------                    ------------------------------------    ------------     -----

Operating Improvement Progress. On the operating improvement front we were able to overcome the challenges in one of the worst years in the seed industry by significantly reducing the operating costs, increasing sales volume of our corn seed business, and managing our inventory reduction efforts. We are pleased with the extra effort of the employees during this tough period in the seed industry. Their contributions during our organizational optimization process were and will continue to be essential to the success of solidifying our foundations and operating improvements.

Following the corporate restructuring in fiscal year 2012 and operational improvements in fiscal year 2013, we achieved further significant improvement in operating efficiency and cost reduction in fiscal year 2014. We were able to further reduce the number of employees and operating costs, especially the general & administrative expenses in fiscal year 2014. As of September 30, 2014, Origin has 531 employees, compared with 856, 713, and 678 employees as of September 30, 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively. The G&A costs in fiscal year 2014 was RMB46.43 million, compared to RMB86.75 million, 77.59 million, and 66.15 million in FY2011, FY2012, and FY2013, respectively. The G&A expenses as the percentage of sales declined from 15.3% in FY2011 to 11.2% in FY2014. We believe our cost reduction efforts were important to the improvements in our financial performance during the challenging year.



                    FY2011        FY2012        FY2013        FY2014
                    ------        ------        ------        ------

    Number of
     employees at
     the end of
     period                   856           713           678           531
    -------------             ---           ---           ---           ---

    General &
     Administrative
     expenses,
     RMB'000               86,748        77,585        66,153        46,428
    ---------------        ------        ------        ------        ------

    G&A expenses
     as the
     percentage
     of revenue,
     %                      15.3          14.1          13.7          11.2
    ------------             ----          ----          ----          ----

On the marketing and inventory fronts, we have faced many more challenges than we originally anticipated when entering the fiscal year 2014 selling season and, by the end of fiscal second quarter of 2014, our inventory had reached a historical high as the competition escalated with many seed suppliers dumping seeds on the market. The imposition of more strict seed business license requirements also amplified inventory dumping as some small companies exited the market. In response to the market competition, we took swift action in our selling and marketing efforts and improved our sales dramatically during the last three months of the season. By the end of the fiscal year 2014 selling season, our sales organization recorded a 10% year over year volume increase for the corn seeds sales (excluding scrap sales and our contract production business). We think this is remarkable considering the tough market conditions and on-going reorganization efforts and it helped to improve our inventory position.

Overall Analysis

Total revenues for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014 were RMB414.89 million (US$67.52 million), a decrease of 14% from RMB481.69 million during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013. Overall, the year-over-year decrease in revenues was mainly due to the lower sales for the Company's rice seed business and a decline in the corn seed contract production businesses.

Corn seeds remained our strongest product line, accounting for 86% of our overall sales. Total revenues from corn seeds were RMB357.44 million (US$58.11 million) in fiscal year 2014, compared with RMB387.22 million in fiscal year 2013. Excluding scrap sales and our contract production business, revenues from our key strategic corn seed business in fiscal year 2014 was RMB351.65 million (US$57.14 million), which was almost flat when compared with that revenue of RMB353.84 million in fiscal year 2013. The sales volume of the corn seeds, excluding the scrap and our contract production business, was up 10% year over year. Revenues from the rice product line for the year ended September 30, 2014 decreased by approximately 49% to RMB36.84 million (US$6.0 million) from RMB72.71 million in fiscal year 2013, due mainly to the increasing competition. Sales of canola seeds decreased by 5% to RMB20.62 million (US$3.35 million) in fiscal year 2014 compared to RMB21.77 million in fiscal year 2013.

Operating expenses for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014 were RMB138.22 million (US$ 22.50 million), representing a decrease of 7% from RMB148.45 million in the fiscal year 2013, which was mainly because of our expense control efforts, notwithstanding an increase in marketing expenses. General and Administrative expenses for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014 were RMB 46.43 million, a significant decrease of 30% year-over-year.

Operating loss for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014 was RMB24.48 million (US$4.0 million), compared to the operating profit of RMB18.16 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013. The decrease in operating results was mainly due to the decline in revenue and a relative increase in production cost.

Net loss for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014 was RMB9.53 million (US$1.55 million) compared to the net income of RMB7.49 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013. The year-over-year decline was mainly due to the decline in revenue and increase in production costs.

Net loss per share was RMB (0.42) or US$ (0.07) for the fiscal year 2014, compared with net income of RMB 0.32 in fiscal year 2013.

As of September 30, 2013 and 2014, we had approximately RMB131.98 million and RMB46.27 million (US$7.52 million), respectively, in cash and cash equivalents. Total borrowings as of September 30, 2013 and 2014 were RMB 286.32 million and RMB 289.83 million (US$47.11 million), respectively. During fiscal year 2014, Net cash used in operating activities was RMB85.64 million (US$13.92 million), down from a cash outflow of RMB146.11 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013. Net cash used in investing activities was RMB0.56 million (US$0.09 million) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014, compared with RMB68.28 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013. Net cash provided by financing activities was RMB0.39 million (US$0.06 million) for the fiscal year ended September 30,2014 compared with RMB191.69 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013. The borrowing was mainly related to the operations of Beijing Origin and Linze Origin, which had RMB225.00 million (US$36.57 million) bank loan for settlement of seed purchases, and RMB52.52 (US$8.54 million) for the new corn seed processing plant construction in Xinjiang.

Research and Development Activities

Origin was built on its strong R&D platform and we strongly believe a commitment to R&D is essential to the growth of the company. During fiscal year 2014, we continue to make significant progress both in our conventional hybrid crop seed development programs and biotechnology R&D activities.

Key developments for Origin's GM corn seeds:

Phytase: Four commercial hybrids with phytase traits have completed the variety production test. These varieties with phytase traits have been submitted to the Chinese government (the Ministry of Agriculture) for variety safety certificate and final approval.

Glyphosate Tolerance: One GM glyphosate tolerance event (the unique DNA recombination event that took place in one plant cell) passed Phase 4 - Production Test and is waiting for the Phase 5 - Safety Certificate. Two more glyphosate tolerance events are being submitted for Phase 3 - Environment Release Test. In addition, more than one thousand events are undergoing Phase 1 - Laboratory Research;

Glyphosate + Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt): Three events of the Company's glyphosate tolerance and insect resistance traits have advanced into Phase 3 - Environment Release Test. More than 4,500 events of the stacked traits (inserting more than one gene in a seed via biotechnology) are being screened in Phase 1 - Laboratory Research.

Backcrossing Programs: Multiyear programs of backcrossing of phytase and glyphosate tolerance traits into corn varieties from our own product lines as well as several product lines of multinational companies are progressing well. Successful backcrossing products of phytase and glyphosate tolerance traits into our own varieties are and will be submitted for government approvals.

Hybrid Corn Seed Development Program:

In addition to GM crop seeds, Origin has a large R&D program developing conventional hybrid crop seeds. In China, new hybrid seed varieties need to go through an official approval process prior to sales. This approval process typically involves three to four years of registration trials and normally proceeds according to the following sequential steps:

Pre-Registration > Registration Trial 1 > Registration Trial 2 > Field Demo > Approval

Each step leading up to approval takes approximately one year unless it needs to be repeated. In some localities the Registration Trial 2 and Field Demo steps are treated as one and the same step.

During fiscal year 2014, we had more than 35 tests going through different stages of the approval process. As the results of multiyear testing, we received registration approval for 8 of our new varieties. For both fiscal years 2013 and 2014, we received a total of 15 approvals for our corn seed hybrid products. This is a significant improvement over the previous three years, during which we only received a total of 5 approvals.

Outlook

Looking forward, we expect the market condition to recover in fiscal year 2015 as the industry corn seed inventory is expected to decline. With our new product introductions, increasing sales efforts, and operational improvements, we expect both revenues and operating income to improve meaningfully in fiscal year 2015. More importantly, we believe that our cash flow from operating activities will have a significant recovery as we manage our inventory and sales efforts product by product.

Conference Call Information

The Company will host a teleconference on January 8, 2015, at 8:00 a.m. ET / 9:00 p.m. Beijing time to discuss the results. To participate in the call, please dial +1-888-346-8982 in North America, or +1-412-902-4272 internationally, approximately 5 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

About Origin

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Zhong-Guan-Cun (ZGC) Life Science Park in Beijing, Origin Agritech Limited (NASDAQ GS: SEED) is China's leading agricultural biotechnology company, specializing in crop seed breeding and genetic improvement, seed production, processing, distribution, and related technical services. Leading the development of crop seed biotechnologies, Origin Agritech's phytase corn was the first transgenic corn to receive the Bio-Safety Certificate from China's Ministry of Agriculture. Over the years, Origin has established a robust biotechnology seed pipeline including products with glyphosate tolerance and pest resistance (Bt) traits. Origin operates production centers, processing centers and breeding stations nationwide with sales centers located in key crop-planting regions. Product lines are vertically integrated for corn, rice and canola seeds. For further information, please log on to the Company's website at: www.originseed.com.cn.

Forward Looking Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based on information available to us on the date hereof. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results to differ materially from those implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "targets," "goals," "projects," "continue," or variations of such words, similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Neither we nor any other person can assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of forward-looking statements. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ from expectations include, but are not limited to, those risk factors discussed in Origin's filings with the SEC including its annual report on Form 20-F to be filed. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reasons.



    CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

    (In thousands, except number of share and per share data)


                                                                     September 30,
                                                                     -------------

                                                                2013                     2014       2014

                                                             RMB                     RMB        US$

    ASSETS

    Current Assets

    Cash and cash
     equivalents                                             131,978                   46,268      7,520

    Restricted cash                                                -                  15,670      2,547

    Accounts
     receivable, less
     allowance for
     doubtful amounts
     of RMB12,110 and
     RMB5,881 as of
     September 30,
     2013 and 2014,
     respectively                                              1,949                    1,021        166

    Due from related
     parties                                                   3,400                    2,698        439

    Advances to
     suppliers                                                 9,768                   17,751      2,885

    Advances to
     growers                                                  58,473                   20,759      3,374

    Inventories                                              470,811                  516,368     83,928

    Income tax
     recoverable                                               1,163                       48          8

    Other current
     assets                                                    7,000                    4,368        710
                                                               -----                    -----        ---

    Total current
     assets                                                  684,542                  624,951    101,577

    Restricted cash                                           14,350                        -         -

    Land use rights,
     net                                                      33,205                   31,799      5,169

    Plant and
     equipment, net                                          354,735                  338,526     55,022

    Equity investments                                        24,894                   18,721      3,043

    Goodwill                                                  11,973                   11,973      1,946

    Acquired
     intangible
     assets, net                                              23,117                   34,891      5,671

    Other assets                                              11,256                    4,009        652
                                                              ------                    -----        ---

    Total assets                                           1,158,072                1,064,870    173,080
                                                           =========                =========    =======

    LIABILITIES AND
     EQUITY

    Current
     liabilities

    Short-term
     borrowings                                              205,000                  225,000     36,570

    Current portion of
     long-term
     borrowings                                               16,500                   33,805      5,495

    Accounts payable                                           4,590                    4,525        736

    Due to growers                                            37,875                   17,943      2,916

    Due to related
     parties                                                   1,530                   11,711      1,903

    Advances from
     customers                                               371,571                  324,645     52,766

    Deferred revenues                                         22,069                   19,029      3,093

    Income tax payable                                        39,060                        -         -

    Other payables and
     accrued expenses                                         53,783                   67,953     11,045
                                                              ------                   ------     ------

    Total current
     liabilities                                             751,978                  704,611    114,524

    Long-term
     borrowings                                               64,819                   31,023      5,042

    Other long-term
     liability                                                21,030                   19,649      3,194

    Total liabilities                                        837,827                  755,283    122,760
                                                             -------                  -------    -------

    Commitments and
     contingencies


    Shareholders'
     equity:

    Preferred stock
     (no par value;
     1,000,000 shares
     authorized, none
     issued)                                                       -                       -         -

    Common stock (no
     par value;
     60,000,000 shares
     authorized,
     24,016,163 and
     24,016,163 shares
     issued as of
     September 30,                                                 -                       -         -
    2013 and 2014;
     22,905,926 and
     22,738,541 shares
     outstanding
    as of September
     30, 2013 and
     2014,
     respectively)

    Additional paid-
     in capital                                              399,564                  400,888     65,158

    Accumulated
     deficit                                                (93,473)               (103,000)  (16,741)

    Treasury stock at
     cost (1,110,237
     and 1,277,622
     shares as of
     September 30,
     2013 and 2014,
     respectively)                                          (35,659)                (37,445)   (6,086)

    Accumulated other
     comprehensive
     loss                                                    (4,390)                 (4,446)     (721)
                                                              ------                   ------       ----

    Total Origin
     Agritech Limited
     shareholders'
     equity                                                  266,042                  255,997     41,610


    Non-controlling
     interests                                                54,203                   53,590      8,710
                                                              ------                   ------      -----

    Total equity                                             320,245                  309,587     50,320
                                                             -------                  -------     ------


    Total liabilities
     and equity                                            1,158,072                1,064,870    173,080
                                                           =========                =========    =======




    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

    (In thousands, except number of share and per share data)


                                                                     Year ended September 30,
                                                                     ------------------------

                                                                2012                 2013            2014        2014

                                                             RMB                 RMB            RMB        US$

    Revenues                                                 552,111              481,694         414,891      67,521

    Cost of revenues                                       (387,783)           (315,082)      (301,148)   (49,010)
                                                            --------             --------        --------     -------

    Gross profit                                             164,328              166,612         113,743      18,511

    Operating expenses

    Selling and marketing                                   (56,437)            (55,375)       (58,972)    (9,597)

    General and administrative                              (77,585)            (66,153)       (46,428)    (7,556)

    Research and development                                (37,629)            (42,162)       (40,377)    (6,571)

    Other income, net                                          3,852               15,241           7,555       1,229
                                                               -----               ------           -----       -----

    Total operating expenses, net                          (167,799)           (148,449)      (138,222)   (22,495)


    Income (loss) from operations                            (3,471)              18,163        (24,479)    (3,984)


    Interest expense                                         (4,029)            (11,326)       (19,743)    (3,213)

    Share of net income (loss) of
     equity investments                                        4,030                5,161           (776)      (126)

    Loss on disposal of an equity
     method investment                                             -                   -        (1,498)      (244)

    Loss on disposal of a subsidiary                               -                   -        (2,623)      (427)

    Interest income                                            2,547                1,776             596          97
                                                               -----                -----             ---         ---

    Income (loss) before income taxes                          (923)              13,774        (48,523)    (7,897)


    Income tax (expense) benefits

    Current                                                    (589)             (2,707)          (677)      (110)

    Deferred                                                  (1273)             (1,755)              -          -

    Reversal of contingent tax
     liability                                                     -                   -         39,060       6,357
                                                                 ---                 ---         ------       -----

    Income tax (expense) benefits                            (1,862)             (4,462)         38,383       6,247


    Net income (loss)                                        (2,785)               9,312        (10,140)    (1,650)

    Less: Net income (loss)
     attributable to non-controlling
     interests                                               (1,351)               1,818           (613)      (100)


    Net income (loss) attributable to
     Origin Agritech Limited                                 (1,434)               7,494         (9,527)    (1,550)

    Other comprehensive income (loss)

    Net income (loss)                                        (2,785)               9,312        (10,140)    (1,650)

    Foreign currency translation
     difference                                                  117                1,890            (56)        (9)
                                                                 ---                -----             ---         ---

    Comprehensive income (loss)                              (2,668)              11,202        (10,197)    (1,659)

    Less: Comprehensive income (loss)
     attributable to non-controlling
     interests                                               (1,351)               1,818           (613)      (100)

    Comprehensive income (loss)
     attributable to Origin Agritech
     Limited                                                 (1,317)               9,384         (9,583)    (1,559)
                                                              ======                =====          ======      ======


    Net income (loss) attributable to
     Origin Agritech Limited per share
     -basic (note 19)                                         (0.06)                0.32          (0.42)     (0.07)
                                                               =====                 ====           =====       =====


    Net income (loss) attributable to
     Origin Agritech Limited per share
     -diluted (note 19)                                       (0.06)                0.32          (0.42)     (0.07)
                                                               =====                 ====           =====       =====


    Shares used in calculating basic
     net income (loss) per share                          23,382,812           23,259,127      22,743,853  22,743,853
                                                          ==========           ==========      ==========  ==========


    Shares used in calculating diluted
     net income (loss) per share                          23,382,812           23,278,443      22,743,853  22,743,853
                                                          ==========           ==========      ==========  ==========



    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

    (In thousands)


                                                    Year ended September 30,
                                                    ------------------------

                                               2012                2013            2014        2014

                                             RMB               RMB             RMB       US$


    Operating activities:

    Net income (loss) attributable to
     Origin Agritech Limited                (1,434)              7,494         (9,527)    (1,549)

    Adjustments to reconcile net
     income(loss) to net cash
     provided by operating
     activities:

    Depreciation and amortization            19,541              28,164          28,524       4,636

    Loss (gain) on disposal of plant
     and equipment                            1,401             (4,505)            943         153

    Gain on disposal of a land use
     right                                    (825)                  -              -          -

    Loss on liquidation of a
     subsidiary                               1,814                   -              -          -

    Loss on disposal of a subsidiary              -                  -          2,623         427

    Loss on disposal of an equity
     method investment                            -                  -          1,498         244

    Allowance for doubtful account            4,038               5,358              15           2

    Provision for inventories                27,453              38,561          21,984       3,574

    Deferred income tax assets                1,273               1,755               -

    Non-controlling interests               (1,351)              1,818           (613)      (100)

    Share-based compensation expense          3,327               1,893           1,324         215

    Share of net (income) loss of
     equity method investments              (4,030)            (5,161)            776         126

    Changes in operating assets and
     liabilities:

    Accounts receivable, net                (4,486)              (242)            914         149

    Due from related parties                  3,101             (1,318)            702         114

    Advances to growers                     (9,571)             29,721          37,714       6,130

    Advances to suppliers                     4,616                (27)        (7,983)    (1,298)

    Inventories                           (102,230)          (226,828)       (67,541)   (10,979)

    Income tax recoverable                      (4)                996           1,114         181

    Other current assets                     48,648               9,574           1,824         296

    Other assets                             14,394               3,135           7,247       1,178

    Accounts payable                          (709)              (441)           (65)       (11)

    Due to growers                          (3,643)             33,571        (19,933)    (3,240)

    Due to related parties                    1,041             (1,239)         10,181       1,655

    Advances from customers                  37,111            (63,473)       (46,926)    (7,627)

    Income tax payable                            -                  -       (39,060)    (6,349)

    Deferred revenues                         3,431             (1,174)        (3,040)      (494)

    Other long-term liabilities              21,810               (780)        (1,380)      (224)

    Other payables and accrued
     expenses                                17,997             (2,961)        (6,954)    (1,130)
                                             ------              ------          ------      ------


    Net cash provided by (used in)
     operating activities                    82,713           (146,109)       (85,639)   (13,921)
                                             ======            ========         =======     =======




    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - Continued

    (In thousands)


                                                                Year ended September 30,
                                                                ------------------------

                                                           2012                2013             2014        2014

                                                        RMB                 RMB             RMB        US$


    Investing activities:

    Proceeds from disposal of
     equity investment                                        -                  -             900         146

    Dividends received                                    2,100               2,700            3,000         488

    Proceeds from disposal of a
     subsidiary,                                              -                  -          11,980       1,947

    net of cash disposed

    Purchase of plant and equipment                   (104,214)           (63,282)        (10,502)    (1,707)

    Proceeds from disposal of land
     use right                                            1,140                   -               -          -

    Proceeds from disposal of plant
     and equipment                                        5,495               7,875            6,174       1,004

    Deposits for purchase of
     acquired technology and                                  -            (5,781)               -          -

      land use rights

    Deposits for purchase of plant
     and equipment                                     (43,874)            (5,470)               -          -

    Purchase of land use rights                           (431)            (1,829)           (673)      (109)

    Purchase of intangible assets                       (3,599)            (2,492)        (11,440)    (1,859)
                                                         ------              ------          -------      ------

    Net cash used in investing
     activities                                       (143,383)           (68,279)           (561)       (90)
                                                       --------             -------             ----         ---


    Financing activities:

    Restricted cash                                           -           (14,350)         (1,320)      (215)

    Proceeds from short-term
     borrowings                                         105,000             274,000          305,000      49,574

    Repayment of short-term
     borrowings                                        (90,000)           (99,000)       (285,000)   (46,323)

    Proceeds from long-term
     borrowings                                          39,000              37,319                -          -

    Repayment of long-term
     borrowings                                               -                  -        (16,500)    (2,682)

    Repurchase of common stock                                -            (6,282)         (1,786)      (290)

    Capital injection from a non-
     controlling shareholder                             29,400                   -               -          -
                                                         ------                 ---             ---        ---

    Net cash provided by financing
     activities                                          83,400             191,687              394          64
                                                         ------             -------              ---         ---


    Net increase (decrease) in cash
     and cash equivalents                                22,730            (22,701)        (85,806)   (13,947)

    Cash and cash equivalents,
     beginning of year                                  129,942             152,789          131,978      21,451

    Effect of exchange rate changes
     on cash and cash equivalents                           117               1,890               96          16
                                                            ---               -----              ---         ---

    Cash and cash equivalents, end
     of year                                            152,789             131,978           46,268       7,520
                                                        =======             =======           ======       =====


    Supplemental disclosures of
     cash flow information:

    Refund of income taxes                                    -                  -             586          95
                                                            ===                ===             ===         ===


    Income taxes paid                                       589               1,711              148          24
                                                            ===               =====              ===         ===


    Interest paid, net of interest
     capitalized                                          4,029              11,326           19,743       3,209
                                                          =====              ======           ======       =====


    Supplemental disclosure of non-
     cash investing activities:

    Disposal of assets in lieu of
     payment for liabilities                              1,814                   -               -          -
                                                          =====                 ===             ===        ===


    Proceeds from disposal of
     equity investment                                        -                  -             900         146

CONTACT:

Origin Agritech Limited
Dr. James Chen
Chief Financial Officer
james.chen@originseed.com.cn

or

Kay Liu
Investor Relations
ke.liu@originseed.com.cn
86 10 5890 7536

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150108/167730-INFO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/origin-agritech-limited-reports-unaudited-financial-results-for-the-year-ended-september-30-2014-300017755.html

SOURCE Origin Agritech Limited