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Planet Green Holdings Corp. - Annual Report: 2012 (Form 10-K)

American Lorain Corporation - Form 10-K - Filed by newsfilecorp.com

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

[X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended: December 31, 2012

[_] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 or 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ____________ to ____________

Commission File Number: 000-50883

AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Nevada 87-0430320
(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)
incorporation or organization)  

Beihuan Zhong Road
Junan County
Shandong, People’s Republic of China, 276600
(Address of principal executive office and zip code)

(86) 539-7318818
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share NYSE AMEX

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes [_]     No [X]

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes [_]     No [X]


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes [X]     No [_]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such file).

Yes [X]     No [_]

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’ s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.

Yes [_]     No [X]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer [_]                Accelerated filer [_]                Non-accelerated filer [_]                Smaller reporting company [X]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).

Yes [_]     No [X]

The number of shares and aggregate market value of common stock held by non-affiliates as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter were 18,414,548 and $20,256,003, respectively.

There were 34,616, 714 shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2013.

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PART I

Item 1. BUSINESS

Conventions

In this annual report on Form 10-K:

 

“We,” “us” and “our” refer to the combined business of ALN, ILH and their direct and indirect Chinese operating subsidiaries.

 

“ALN” refers to American Lorain Corporation, a Nevada corporation (formerly known as Millennium Quest, Inc.).

 

“ILH” refers to International Lorain Holding, Inc., a Cayman Islands company that is wholly - owned by ALN.

 

“Junan Hongrun” refers to Junan Hongrun Foodstuff Co., Ltd.

 

“Luotian Lorain” refers to Luotian Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd.

 

“Beijing Lorain” refers to Beijing Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd.

 

“Shandong Lorain” refers to Shandong Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd.

 

“Dongguan Lorain” refers to Dongguan Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd.

 

“Shandong Greenpia” refers to Shandong Greenpia Foodstuff Co., Ltd.

 

“RMB” refers to Renminbi, the legal currency of China.

 

“U.S. dollar,” “$” and “US$” refer to the legal currency of the United States.

 

“China” and “PRC” refer to the People’s Republic of China.

Overview of Our Business

We are an integrated food manufacturing company headquartered in Shandong Province, China. We develop, manufacture and sell the following types of food products:

 

chestnut products,

 

convenience foods (including ready-to-cook, or RTC, foods, ready-to-eat, or RTE, foods and meals ready-to-eat, or MRE); and

 

frozen food products.

We conduct our production activities in China. Our products are sold in domestic markets as well as exported to foreign countries and regions such as Japan, Korea and Europe. We derive most of our revenues from sales in China, Japan and South Korea. In 2013, our primary strategy is to continue building our brand recognition in China through consistent marketing efforts towards supermarkets, wholesalers, and significant customers, enhancing the cooperation with other manufacturers and factories and enhancing the turnover for our existing chestnut, convenience and frozen food products. In addition, we are working to expand our marketing efforts in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. We currently have limited sales and marketing activity in the United States, although our long-term plan is to significantly expand our activities there.

Organizational Structure

ALN is a Nevada corporation that was incorporated on February 4, 1986 and was formerly known as Millennium Quest, Inc. Prior to May 3, 2007, when ALN completed a recapitalization, or reverse merger, with ILH, ALN did not engage in active business operations other than to search for a potential acquisition target. Effective November 12, 2009, ALN reincorporated in Nevada from Delaware.

ALN owns 100% of ILH. ILH wholly owns two Chinese operating subsidiaries, Luotian Lorain and Junan Hongrun, directly. Junan Hongrun, in turn, wholly owns Dongguan Lorain. In addition, together with Junan Hongrun, ILH wholly owns Beijing Lorain, Shandong Greenpia, and owns approximately 80% of Shandong Lorain (Shandong Economic Development Investment Co. Ltd. owns approximately 20%). We sometimes refer to our six Chinese operating subsidiaries throughout this annual report on Form 10-K as the Lorain Group Companies. Below is an organizational chart of ALN, ILH and the Lorain Group Companies:

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Products

Our products are categorized into the following three segments:

  Chestnut products,
  Convenience food products, and
  Frozen food products.

We produced 234 products in 2012, including 7 new products in the chestnut, convenience and frozen foods segment. We also discontinued 27 products in 2012 in the convenience segment due to slow sales.

Our chestnut products and convenience foods were our main profit centers in 2012. Our convenience foods segment has been the fastest growing portion of our business and was one of the main catalysts of our growth during 2012. We are also experiencing stronger sales for our frozen food products due to demand in both domestic and abroad. Frozen food products accounted for 14.6% of our revenues in 2012 as compared with 14.1% in 2011.

Chestnut Products

We believe that we are the largest chestnut processor and manufacturer in China. We have developed brand equity for our chestnut products in China, Japan and South Korea over the past 10 to 15 years. We produced 58 high value-added processed chestnut products in 2012. In 2012 and 2011, this segment contributed 52.2% and 51.7% of our total revenues, respectively.

Our best selling products in 2012 included our aerated open-bottom chestnuts, which are chestnuts packaged with nitrogen; sweetheart chestnuts, which are sweet preserved chestnuts; chestnuts in syrup, which are very popular in Japan and South Korea; and golden chestnut kernels. The majority of our chestnut products are natural and do not contain chemical additives.

The chestnut, in contrast to many other tree nuts, contains small quantities of oil and is very high in complex carbohydrates. This makes them useful for a wider food range than other common nuts. Chestnuts are commonly steamed, boiled, sugar stir-fried, roasted or added into dishes or desserts as an ingredient.

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China is the largest grower of chestnuts in the world, followed by South Korea and Japan. In recent years, the chestnut production in South Korea and Japan has declined. This has been attributed to the increasing labor costs and operational costs incurred in growing chestnuts. Because of the declining domestic production, South Korean and Japanese customers have grown to rely more on imported chestnut products. Our strategy is to take advantage of these trends.

We differentiate our chestnut products based on flavor, size and method of packaging. For instance, some of our chestnut products that are sold in Japan are packaged in plastic bags or tin cans, each considered a different product. Similarly, some of our chestnut products are processed with hot water or cold water, each considered a different product.

Chestnut season in China lasts from September to January. We purchase and produce raw chestnuts during these months and store them in our refrigerated storage facilities throughout the year. Once we obtain a purchase order during the rest of the year, we remove the chestnuts from storage, process them and ship them within one day of production.

Convenience Foods

Our convenience food products are characterized as follows:

  Ready-to-cook, or RTC, food products,
  Ready-to-eat, or RTE, food products and
  Meals ready-to-eat, or MRE, food products.

These products are intended to meet the current demands of our customers for safe, wholesome and tasty foods that are easily prepared.

RTCs can be served after a few easy cooking procedures. Typically, when preparing a RTC, customers need only to heat the food in a microwave or boil it for several minutes before eating. Our best selling RTCs in 2012 were French fries.

RTEs can be served without any cooking. Our best selling RTEs in 2012 were various bean products and pickle products.

MREs are meal kits with self-heating devices or microwavable kits, such as microwavable rice boxes. Our self heating MREs are primarily for military use since no cooking device or other ingredients are needed other than water. We also introduced microwavable MREs for civilian uses such as camping, traveling and other occasions since only simple preparation and a cooking device such as a microwave oven is required.

We produce various MREs based on Chinese cuisine, the best sellers of which were our pork with garlic sauce over rice and kungpao chicken with rice in 2012. Many of our convenience products are natural and do not contain chemical additives.

We produced 118 convenience food products in 2012, including 5 new products such as boiled vegetables. In 2012 and 2011, this segment contributed 33.2% and 34.2%, respectively, of our total revenues.

Our convenience foods segment has been the fastest growing portion of our business and was one of the main catalysts of our growth during 2012. We expect our convenience foods segment to continue to be an important area of growth for our business in the future.

Frozen Food Products

We produce a variety of frozen foods, mostly frozen vegetables and frozen fruits. We produced 62 frozen food products in 2012. Our best selling frozen foods in 2012 were frozen asparagus and frozen corn.

Our frozen food business allows us to mitigate the significant production seasonality of chestnut products and to increase the utilization rate of our production capacity. We are seeing steady increase in sales of our frozen food segment due to demands from both domestic and international markets. The percentage weight frozen foods accounted for in our total revenue increased from 14.1% in 2011 to 14.6% in 2012. Gross margins in this segment are lower than the margins for chestnut products and convenience foods.

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Our Manufacturing Facilities

General

We currently manufacture our products in six facilities in China, three of which are located in Junan County, Shandong Province, one in Luotian County, Hubei Province, one in Miyun County, Beijing City and one leased facility in Dongguan, Guandong Province. The following table indicates the year that operations commenced at each of the facilities and the size of the facilities.

  Year Operations Facility Size
Facility Commenced (square meters)
Junan Hongrun 2002 38,865
Shandong Lorain 1995 15,392
Beijing Lorain 2003 21,000
Luotian Lorain 2003 9,558
Dongguan 2008 9,250
Shandong Greenpia 2010 9,179

Production Lines

We currently manufacture our products using 26 production lines. Each production line is used to produce between 10 and 50 products. We currently run three types of product lines:

 

Deep-freezing lines, which are used to freeze raw materials for year-round production and to produce frozen food;

 

Canning lines, which are used to produce canned products, including chestnut products; and

 

Convenience food lines, which are used for producing RTCs, RTEs and MREs, all of which have nitrogen preservation capacity.

The production process for our chestnut products initially involves sorting and cleaning the raw chestnuts purchased during the chestnut season. We then store the raw chestnuts in our refrigerated storage facilities throughout the year. Once we obtain a purchase order, we remove the chestnuts from storage and process them by steaming, decladding and deep-freezing the chestnuts, depending on the particular product. We then package and ship the processed chestnuts within one day of production.

The production process of our convenience products generally involves various steps, including soaking, boiling, coating, drying, deep freezing, packing, sealing and sterilizing.

The following table shows the number and types of production lines, the types of products produced and the production capacity at each facility:

Facilities Production Lines Product Portfolio 2012 Capacity
Junan Hongrun

1 Deep-freezing line
3 Convenience food lines
4 Canning lines
Chestnut products, frozen foods, beans,
bean paste
Multi-purpose production lines with
44,000 tons of production capacity and
24,900 tons of cold and frozen storage
Shandong Lorain

1 Deep-freezing line
1 Convenience food line
Chestnut products, convenience
frozen foods
foods, Multi-purpose production lines with
20,000 tons of production capacity and
3,500 tons of cold and frozen storage
Beijing Lorain

6 Convenience food lines
1 Deep-freezing line
Chestnut products, frozen foods

Multi-purpose production lines with
34,000 tons of production capacity and
4,650 tons of cold and frozen storage
Luotian Lorain

3 Convenience food lines
2 Deep-freezing lines
Chestnut products, convenience foods,
frozen foods
Multi-purpose production lines with
24,000 tons of production capacity and
6,500 tons of cold and frozen storage
Dongguan factory

2 Convenience food lines

Convenience food

Multi-purpose production lines with
3,000 tons of production capacity and
2,250 tons of cold and frozen storage

Shandong Greenpia

2 Convenience food lines

Chestnut products, convenience foods
Multi-purpose production lines with
9,000 tons of production capacity and
1,500 tons of cold and frozen storage

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We allocate our production lines based upon the location of our facilities to take advantage of efficiencies in the transportation of required raw materials. For example, Junan Hongrun and Shandong Lorain, which manufacture primarily chestnut and frozen products, are located in Shandong Province, which is China’s largest supplier of fresh products by volume. Shandong Province is also a major chestnut producing region.

Our production lines and facilities have all been designed to meet the standards and requirements of our largest customers in Japan and Europe, with Japan being our largest export market. We employ advanced methods of quality control and have obtained various certifications for many of our products, packages and processes, including ISO 9000 or ISO 9001 certification for certain of our chestnut and frozen vegetable products, BRC certification for certain of our frozen fruit and vegetable products and HACCP certification for certain of our frozen vegetable, fruit and chestnut products and our bottom-open chestnuts. We believe that our quality controls and standards of products distinguish us from other manufacturers in both domestic and international markets.

With limited exception, we operate our production lines year round. In the past, when our production was focused almost exclusively on chestnuts, we experienced seasonal underutilization of our product lines. However, our current facilities have multiple-function designs allowing us to use our production lines for our convenience and frozen products when we are not producing chestnuts at full capacity. Consequently, as we have increased our processed and convenience food offerings over the last several years, we have generally been able to run our production lines at increasing efficiency.

Previously, most of our processed and convenience foods were produced at our Beijing Lorain plant. With the introduction of bean products in 2009, we expanded our facility in Junan Hongrun with the addition of three convenience food production lines designed specifically for bean products with current annual capacity of 13,500 metric tons.

We believe our facilities are adequate for our current levels of production. We anticipate, however, that we may require additional facilities and/or product lines as our business grows. We are exploring the possibility of alliances with one or more OEM partners for the production, in the short-term, of some of our convenience food products and frozen products should our facilities be inadequate to meet increasing demand. We are also exploring the possibility of leasing additional production lines to expand our production capacity. In 2008, we leased two convenience foods production lines in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, which increased production capacity by approximately 3,000 metric tons per year to meet our short-term needs. We did not lease any production facility during 2012. Given the relatively low cost to lease, we may decide to lease additional facilities in 2013, should circumstances require. In the long-term, we plan to increase our own production capacity by acquiring or building new facilities, subject to the availability of adequate sources of funding.

Storage Capacity

Storage of our raw materials and inventory is a critical element of our business. Our raw materials and partially finished products need to be preserved in frozen storages (-18ºC to -20ºC) or constant temperature storages (-5ºC to 5ºC). Storage is particularly critical for our chestnut products because chestnuts are a seasonal fruit.

The following table illustrates on a facility by facility basis the type and capacity of our storage resources:

Facility Storage Type Number of Capacity
    Storage Units (metric tons)
Junan Hongrun Frozen Storage 19 20,100
  Constant Temperature 8 4,800
Shandong Lorain Frozen Storage 5 2,000
  Constant Temperature 3 1,500
Beijing Lorain Frozen Storage 6 2,850
  Constant Temperature 3 1,800
Luotian Lorain Frozen Storage 8 4,500
  Constant Temperature 4 2,000
Dongguan Frozen Storage 2 800
  Constant Temperature 2 1,450
Shandong Greenpia Constant Temperature 4 1,500
TOTAL   64 43,300

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As we have expanded our production capacity, we have also expanded our storage capacity. All of the listed storage facilities are owned by us. In 2009, we expanded our storage capacity in Junan Hongrun by an additional 3,600 metric tons. In 2010, we also expanded storage facility in Dongguan by 1,000 metric tons and, through our acquisition of Shandong Greenpia, we have added four additional storage units with an aggregate capacity of 1,500 metric tons. We also added 13,500 metric tons of cold storage at the Junan Hongrun facility during 2011. We did not add our storage capacity during 2012. We may build or lease additional storage facilities from time to time should circumstance require.

Agricultural Operations

We grow or set up agricultural co-ops with local farmers to supply ourselves with a small portion of chestnut, fruit and vegetable products. For the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, the supplies coming from agricultural operations have been immaterial. We believe, however, that development of agricultural facilities is a good strategy for the long-term. We anticipate that self grown agricultural products and agricultural products grown in cooperation with local farmers will enable us to assure adequacy of supply, promote quality and reduce cost, particularly for our high margin offerings. For example, by growing Korean cultivar chestnuts domestically, we expect to significantly reduce our supply costs for this premium product, while ensuring superior quality.

Lands in which we grow our agricultural products for such products are shown in the following table.

  Area Location
Harvest (acres) (PRC)
Chestnut (South Korean, Japanese, Australian cultivar) 329 Shandong
Chestnut (Japanese cultivar) 165 Beijing
Sticky Corn 342 Beijing
Sweet Corn 118 Beijing
Green Pea 217 Beijing
Sweet Pea 167 Beijing
Organic Chestnut 165 Beijing
Mixed Vegetables 417 Shandong
Mixed Vegetables 83 Beijing
Japanese Pumpkin 197 Inner Mongolia
Black Beans 500 Shandong
Strawberry 392 Shandong
Broccoli 165 Beijing
Green Asparagus 591 Beijing
White Asparagus 263 Shandong
Sweet Potato 500 Shandong
Peach 329 Beijing
Apricot 411 Beijing
Pear 329 Beijing
Blackberry 165 Beijing

We began growing chestnuts in Shandong Province in 2003. Unlike most vegetables and fruits, chestnut trees have a 3-5 year growing phase before they can be harvested. Our current chestnut planting base has been self-supplying limited quantities of chestnuts to our production since 2007.

We began growing strawberries in 2008 in Shandong and peaches, apricots, pears and blackberries in 2009 in Beijing. We use these fruits in some of our frozen fruit products. We plan to continue to expand our agricultural operations over the next few years. Among other things, we plan to increase our self-production in China of Korean cultivar chestnuts. We expect to obtain funding for this expansion through a combination of commercial and government loans, including loans under Chinese government programs to promote agricultural industrialization. There is no assurance, however, that adequate funding for these purposes will be available to us.

Raw Materials

In 2012 and 2011, approximately 86% and 88% of our procured raw materials, respectively, consisted of agricultural products, including primarily chestnuts and vegetables, approximately 7% and 7%, respectively, consisted of packaging materials and approximately 7% and 5% consisted of condiments such as sugar, salt and flour.

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Our Supply Sources

Our business depends on obtaining a reliable supply of various agricultural products, including chestnuts, vegetables, red meat, fish, eggs, rice and flour. Because of the diversity of available sources of these raw materials, we believe that our raw materials are currently in adequate supply and will continue to be so in the future.

We obtain our agricultural raw materials from three sources: domestic procurement (excluding self-supply), overseas markets, and self-supply. Domestic and overseas procurement accounted 96.4% and 3.4%, respectively, of our total raw material costs in 2012, with self-supply accounted for less than 1%. We obtained substantially all of our agricultural raw materials from domestic sources during 2012.

In 2012 and 2011, respectively, we procured approximately 62,934 and 64,851 metric tons of chestnuts and approximately 72,254 and 54,827 metric tons of vegetables and other raw materials from a number of third party suppliers, domestic and overseas, and produced approximately 160 and 258 metric tons of chestnuts from our own agricultural operations.

We select suppliers based on price and product quality. We typically rely on numerous domestic and international suppliers, including some with whom we have a long-term relationship. Our top 10 suppliers accounted for 34.1% and 17.9%, respectively, of the total procurement in 2012 and 2011 in value terms. We purchase from suppliers and farmers pursuant to supply contracts and underlying purchase orders. We have not entered into any long-term contracts with any of our suppliers.

Our suppliers generally include wholesale agricultural product companies, agricultural associations and distributors. Some raw materials must be imported at higher costs, however. Occasionally, we also work directly with farmers. For instance, we operate an initiative which involves a series of cooperation and lease agreements between Shandong Lorain, Beijing Lorain and local farmers. This initiative involves approximately 1,000 acres of land which is used primarily to produce Japanese and Korean style chestnuts, sticky corn and pumpkins for our operations.

Procurement Cost and Quality Control

To control procurement costs, we have built our facilities near domestic sources of agricultural raw materials. For example, Junan Hongrun and Shandong Lorain are located in Shandong Province, which is China’s largest supplier of fresh products by volume. Shandong Province is also a major chestnut producing region. Local procurement reduces our costs, especially transportation costs. It also gives us first-hand harvest and market information, which provides us with an advantage in price negotiations with suppliers.

Some raw materials must be imported at higher cost. As discussed, we have begun to develop our agricultural capabilities in order to control costs, particularly with respect to imported raw materials such as Korean-style chestnuts.

Pricing for agricultural products reflects several external factors, such as weather conditions and commodity market fluctuations, which are beyond our control. We obtain contemporaneous information on local harvests and collect daily reported price information on harvests in other markets from which we procure our products. We also attempt to predict harvest yields in advance based on our information gathering. We use this harvest information to negotiate best pricing with our suppliers.

We impose strict standards on our suppliers. During the harvest season, our internal procurement function may visit our sources of supply to assure that the products we are purchasing comply with our standards.

Our Customers

Our products are sold in domestic markets as well as exported to foreign countries and regions such as Japan, Korea and Europe. In 2012 and 2011, approximately 71.3 and 73.7%, respectively, of our sales were made domestically and approximately 28.7% and 26.3%, respectively, were to international customers, primarily Japan and South Korea. Our top ten customers contributed 15.4% and 15.5% of our total revenues in 2012 and 2011.

Domestic

In China, we sell our products through our own sales team and through third-party distributors. We have 36 sales offices in 21 provinces in China. In 2012 and 2011, we sold approximately 95.2% and 88%, respectively, of our products directly to our Chinese customers and approximately 4.8% and 12% through third-party distributors.

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We sell our products in all first-tier cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou, through our own sales team in order to capture the profit margin that would otherwise go to intermediate wholesalers and to enhance our brand recognition. Our sales team sells our products directly to supermarket chains, mass merchandisers, large wholesalers and others in these markets. In second-tier and third-tier cities, we currently sell our products to third-party distributors, such as food companies or trading companies with established distribution channels in such regions, rather than through our own sales team, in order to enable us to penetrate such markets more quickly without spending significant capital. We also sell to small customers through independent sales representatives.

Generally, our direct sales customers are required to pay us on 30 to 60 day credit terms. Third-party distributors, however, generally do not pay on credit, allowing us to obtain quicker payment terms and thereby decrease our accounts receivables.

The terms of a typical sales contract between us and our distributors provide that we are responsible for transportation costs and the distributors are responsible for storage costs. Furthermore, the distributors have the right to return products that fail to satisfy specified quality standards, at our cost. The majority of such contracts require the distributors to pay us in cash in full upon delivery, and the remaining contracts provide for short-term credit, usually two to three weeks. In addition, we typically offer distributors performance-based incentives, such as a cash bonus equal to 1% of total revenues generated by such distributor which exceed previously established sales targets.

We plan to gradually increase the portion of sales to third party distributors in order to access new markets in China in a cost efficient manner and to improve our cash position. Such plans are subject to our ability to restructure the sales force and manage the increased number of distributors without compromising our profit margins.

International

Our export sales destinations include:

 

Asia pacific, primarily Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, but also Singapore, Philippines, and Australia;

 

Europe, primarily Belgium and the United Kingdom, but also France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, and Denmark

 

the Middle East, primarily Saudi Arabia and Israel;

 

North America, including the United States and Canada

We generate most of our sales in Asia. In 2012 and 2011, respectively, approximately 94.2% and 93.8% of our international sales were in Asia and approximately 5.5% and 5.7% were in Europe.

We sell our products to international markets primarily through export and trading agents and companies in China, as well as our own sales team located in China. Our sales team sells directly to wholesalers, food processors and mass merchandisers. Many of our customers are well known in their local food market. We have established long-term relationships with many international customers, especially in Japan and South Korea. We currently have no sales offices outside of China and do not use alternative methods to sell our products outside of China. We attend trade shows in Europe and other international markets in order to promote our products.

Our Sales and Marketing Efforts

We seek to expand our customer base by:

 

direct sales communications with our large customers;

 

sales through distributors to new customer bases;

 

referrals from existing customers; and

 

participation in domestic and international food exhibitions and trade conferences.

We have not spent a significant amount of capital on advertising in the past, and our advertising budget continues to be limited. In 2012 our marketing and branding efforts included supermarket advertising and internet advertising. We intend to increase our advertising and branding efforts given the consumer nature for many of our products. For the near future, our marketing efforts will continue to focus primarily on the domestic Chinese market for our chestnut and convenience food products.

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Competition and Market Position

The overall food market is diverse, both globally and in China. We do not have a significant market share in any of our business segments.

Chestnut Products

We compete in the chestnut market primarily on the basis of the uniqueness of our products, quality, price and brand recognition. We also utilize our proprietary, patented and patent-pending technology in the production of our chestnut products to our competitive advantage.

The world market for chestnut products is highly fragmented. Our principal competitors in the chestnut product market are currently Hebei Liyuan, a Chinese company, and Foodwell Corporation, a South Korean company.

Convenience Food Products

The market competition for convenience food products is based mostly upon quality and product variety. We attempt to use our modern food processing technology, such as nitrogen preservation, to produce a wide variety of high quality convenience foods.

The convenience food market in China is highly fragmented and we do not face competitive pressure from any particular competitor or small group of competitors.

Frozen Food Products

In the frozen food product market, competition is based primarily upon quality, ability to provide a reliable product supply and customer relationships.

Our strongest competitors in the frozen food products market are currently Weifang Langdong Food Co. Ltd., Yuyao Hongji Food Co. Ltd. and Yantai Pengshun Food Co. Ltd., all of which are located in China.

Competitive Advantages

We believe that we enjoy a number of competitive advantages, both domestically and internationally.

We have developed brand equity for our chestnut products in China, Japan and South Korea over the past 10 to 15 years. Our customers are willing to pay a premium for some of our chestnut products because of our brand equity. In addition, we believe that we have a strong distribution channel for our products in the markets in which we currently operate.

We believe that we are able to provide our customers with greater selection and a more reliable supply than many of our competitors, which is especially important for our supermarket chain and large wholesaler customers. We produced 58 chestnut products in 2012. We believe that we are the sole provider of certain bottom-open chestnut and sweetheart chestnut products in China.

Labor is a large portion of total operating costs for food companies. We believe that we have a lower labor cost structure and a more abundant labor supply than many of our international competitors.

We are focused on managing our costs in other ways as well. We seek to locate our production facilities in close proximity to our main domestic sources of raw materials supply to reduce transportation costs and give us first-hand knowledge of market factors affecting our cost of raw material supply. Our agricultural self-supply program, while modest at present, is expected to grow and to become a significant element of our cost containment efforts.

We use modern food processing technology and innovation in our formulation and manufacturing processes to create high quality products. Nitrogen preservation in particular, used in the production of convenience foods, is an innovative technology which has not been widely applied in China.

In 2008, we submitted an application for patent protection in the PRC for two of our technologies which support the production of our chestnut and convenience food products, with one successful patent grant and one denial. During 2009 and 2010, we submitted four additional patent applications, with three successful patent grants and one remaining under review. (See “Intellectual Property” below.) We believe that our technology gives us an advantage over our Chinese competitors, allowing us to produce chestnut and convenience food products that are superior in quality and to offer more products varieties.

We believe that our reputation for quality also contributes to our competitiveness. We maintain high food safety standards, in order to satisfy both domestic and international requirements. We regularly test our products for quality and compliance with standards.

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Intellectual Property

Trademarks

We use the trademarks on all of our products sold in China.

Patents

We have developed the following six proprietary technologies to support our chestnut and convenience food production:

 

The sweetheart chestnut is a premium product that is more expensive, and yields greater profit margins than our other chestnut products. Our proprietary technology relates to the process for evenly distributing throughout the chestnuts the syrup used to preserve the chestnuts. This technology enhances the texture of the chestnuts, preserves the natural form of the chestnuts and promotes the stability and uniformity of the chestnuts’ sweetness. In 2008, our patent application for this technology was approved by the State Intellectual Property Office of the PRC and is protected by PRC patent law for 20 years. We expect this technology to contribute to the growth of our sales of sweetheart chestnuts, which had been increasing at an annual rate of 25% to 30% over the past several years.

   

 

Oden is a popular traditional Japanese dish, typically consisting of boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth. Our technology relates to the process used to control the sterilization of the packaging for oden eggs. Our technology enables us to deliver convenience food products with unique freshness and authentic taste. This technology has been an important factor in expanding the market for our convenience foods products, particularly in Japan. Our patent application for this product was approved by the State Intellectual Property Office in February 2009.

   

 

The pickle vegetable exhibition counter is ideal for shopping malls and supermarkets. It consists of the refrigerator cabinet which keeps the temperature low, and the exhibition cabinet, which sits above the refrigerator cabinet and with glass covers. The exhibition counter is intended for convenience observation and better preservation for the pickle vegetables. Our patent for this device was granted in April 2009.

   

 

High-temperature chestnut roasting machine is an innovative chestnut roasting device, which overcomes shortcomings of traditional roasters such as low efficiency and uneven heating. It is a sealed cylinder device and also equipped with thermometer and manometer to gauge the temperature and pressure inside the roaster. This new roasting device is also energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Our patent application for this device was approved by the State Intellectual Property Office in July 2011, and protected by PRC patent law for 10 years.

We were also granted two additional patents by the State Intellectual Property Office of the PRC during 2012, including the preparation of aerated snack beans and frozen bottom open chestnuts. The patent application for the device and the preparation procedure for chestnut roasting within a high pressure cylinder device we submitted during 2010 is still pending review. The approval for patents can typically takes 3 to 4 years. We also submitted one additional patent application during 2012 for the preservation, storage and processing procedures for chestnuts, which is also currently under review.

We take reasonable steps to protect our proprietary information and trade secrets, such as limiting disclosure of proprietary plans, methods and the like on a need-to-know basis and requiring employees with access to our proprietary technology to enter into confidentiality arrangements. We believe that our proprietary technology and trade secrets are adequately protected.

Our Employees

As of December 31, 2012, we had a total of 2,005 full-time employees and 460 part-time employees. 780 of our full-time employees are directly employed by our subsidiary companies and the remaining employees are employed by Linyi Zhifu Labor Service Company, an outside company that leases employees to us to meet our staffing needs. As required by Chinese law, all employees are party to a written employment contract. We compensate the employees leased from Linyi Zhifu directly and pay Linyi Zhifu a service fee. Linyi Zhifu is responsible for the pension and social insurance benefits of the leased employees, as described below.

The following table sets forth the allocation of employees, both direct and leased, by job function.

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Department Number of
  Employees
   
Production 2,048
Quality Control 78
Domestic Sales 137
Human Resources 8
Research and Development 40
International Sales 39
Finance 41
Procurement 23
Administration 44
Strategic planning 7
Total 2,465

We believe that the relationship between management and our employees is good. We have not experienced any significant problems or disruption to our operations due to labor disputes, nor have we experienced any difficulties in recruitment and retention of experienced staff.

Our Shandong Lorain subsidiary has an employee relations department for the purpose of advancing employee welfare, encouraging employee participation in decision making and enhancing relations among employees and between employees and our management team.

We compensate our production line employees by unit produced (piece work) and compensate other employees with a base salary and bonus based on performance. We also provide training for our staff from time to time to enhance their technical and product knowledge, including knowledge of industry quality standards.

Our employees in China participate in a state pension scheme organized by Chinese municipal and provincial governments. We were required to contribute to the scheme on behalf of our direct employees at a rate of 24% of the average monthly salary for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011. In addition, we are required by Chinese law to cover our employees with various types of social insurance. We made contributions to the social insurance scheme on behalf of our direct employees at a rate of 4% of the average monthly salary for each employee for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010. As indicated above, Linyi Zhifu is responsible for contributions on behalf of the leased employees.

Our Research and Development Activities

Our research and development efforts are focused on three objectives:

  Superior product safety and quality;
  Reduction of operating costs; and
  Sustaining growth through the development of new products.

We have research and development staff at each of our facilities. In total, 40 employees are dedicated to research and development.

We rely heavily on customer feedback to assist us in the modification and development of our products. We also utilize customer feedback to assist us in the development of new products. Over the past several years, on average, we added 10 to 20 new varieties to our product portfolio each year. In 2012, we added 7 new products, most in our convenience and frozen foods segment. In 2012, we discontinued 27 products in the convenience food segment primarily due to slow sales.

The amount we spent on research and development activities during the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 was not a material portion of our total expenses for those years.

Government Regulation

As a manufacturer and distributor of food products, we are subject to regulations of China’s Agricultural Ministry. This regulatory scheme governs the manufacture (including composition and ingredients), labeling, packaging and safety of food. It also regulates manufacturing practices, including quality assurance programs, for foods through its current goods manufacturing practices regulations, and specifies the standards of identity for certain foods, including the products sold by us, and prescribes the format and content of many of the products sold by us, the format and content of certain nutritional information required to appear on food products labels and approves and regulates claims of health benefits of food products.

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We have obtained approvals from Chinese authorities for the production of certain categories of products, including chestnuts, frozen vegetables and fruits, fish, and canned products. Production of new products that do not fall into approved categories of products would require separate approval from the appropriate Chinese authorities. We have consistently obtained such approvals for our newly developed products in the past and do not anticipate any difficulties in obtaining new approvals in the future if needed.

In addition, we are required to obtain governmental approval, and to register with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, in order to open a new facility in China. We have consistently obtained such approvals, and made such registrations, for our new facilities in the past and do not anticipate any difficulties in filing new registrations and obtaining new approvals in the future if needed.

Under the relevant Provisions of the PRC on Sanitation of Food for Export (for Trial Implementation), unless an exporter’s products are exempted from inspection, products must be inspected in accordance with the Law of the PRC on Import and Export Commodity Inspection. We have not been exempted from inspection. In the past, we were authorized by the relevant authorities to conduct self-inspection of certain of our export products. However, currently, the relevant authorities have imposed tighter food safety control in China, and as a result, all of our exported food products must be inspected by qualifying government agencies. We believe that all of our exported products are currently in compliance with such requirements and we do not anticipate any difficulties in complying with such rules in the future.

In addition, we are required to obtain a license from the local branch of the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of China for our exported products. We have consistently obtained such licenses in the past and we do not anticipate any difficulties in obtaining such licenses in the future.

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

RISK FACTORS

From time to time, information provided by us, including but not limited to statements in this report, or other statements made by or on our behalf, may contain “forward-looking” information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those anticipated. Set forth below are important factors that could cause our results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf.

Business Risks

We may not be able to obtain an adequate supply of high quality raw materials.

Our business depends on obtaining a reliable supply of various agricultural products, including chestnuts, vegetables, fruits, red meat, fish, eggs, rice, flour and packaging products. During 2012, the cost of our raw materials increased from $127,798,200 to $145,460,250 for an increase of approximately 13.8%. We may have to increase the number of our suppliers of raw materials and expand our own agricultural operations in the future to meet growing production demands. Despite our efforts to control our supply of raw materials and maintain good relationships with our suppliers, we could lose one or more of our suppliers at any time. The loss of several suppliers may be difficult to replace and could increase our reliance on higher cost or lower quality suppliers, which could negatively affect our profitability. In addition, if we have to increase the number of our suppliers of raw materials in the future to meet growing production demands, we may not be able to locate new suppliers who could provide us with sufficient materials to meet our needs. Any interruptions to, or decline in, the amount or quality of our raw materials supply could materially disrupt our production and adversely affect our business and financial condition and financial prospects.

The prices that we have paid for our raw materials recently have experienced significant fluctuation. If these price fluctuations continue, our profit margins may be materially adversely affected.

The average price that we paid for chestnuts in 2012 and 2011 was approximately $1,433 per metric ton and $1,071 per metric ton, respectively, excluding value added taxes. We do not currently hedge against changes in our raw material prices. Consequently, if the costs of our raw materials increase further, and we are unable to offset these increases by raising the prices of our products, our profit margins and financial condition could be adversely affected.

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Price inflation in China could affect our results of operation if we are unable to pass along raw material price increases to our customers.

Inflation in China has been consistently increasing in recent years. Because we purchase raw materials from suppliers in China, price inflation directly causes an increase in the cost of our raw materials. Price inflation could affect our results of operation if we are unable to pass along raw material price increases to customers. In addition, if inflationary trends continue in China, China could lose its competitive advantage as a low-cost manufacturing venue, which could in turn lessen some of the competitive advantages of our being based in China. Accordingly, inflation in China may weaken our competitiveness domestically or in international markets.

Our sales and reputation may be affected by product liability claims, litigation or, product recalls in relation to our products.

The sale of products for human consumption involves an inherent risk of injury to consumers. We face risks associated with product liability claims, litigation, or product recalls, if our products cause injury or become adulterated or misbranded. Our products are subject to product tampering and contamination, such as mold, bacteria, insects, shell fragments and off-flavor contamination, during any of the procurement, production, transportation and storage processes. If any of our products were to be tampered with, or become tainted in any of these respects, and we were unable to detect this, our products could be subject to product liability claims or product recalls. Our ability to sell products could be reduced if certain pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals used by growers have left harmful residues on portions of our raw materials or if our raw materials have been contaminated by other agents.

We have never had a product recall in the past but we have experienced product liability claims that were made by our customers. The amounts of such claims were immaterial. However, claims of product defect or product liability for material amounts, individually or in the aggregate, may be made in the future.

We have not procured a product liability or general liability insurance policy for our business, as the insurance industry in China is still in an early stage of development. To the extent that we suffer a loss of a type which would normally be covered by product liability or general liability insurance in the United States, we would incur significant expenses in defending any action against us and in paying any claims that result from a settlement or judgment against us. Product liability claims and product recalls could have a material adverse effect on the demand for our products and on our business goodwill and reputation. Adverse publicity could result in a loss of consumer confidence in our products.

We may be unable to manage future rapid growth.

We have grown rapidly over the last few years. Our sales increased from $27,735,833 in 2004 to $239,673,463 in 2012. The number of product types we sold increased from approximately 100 in 2004 to approximately 234 in 2012. We intend to continue to expand the volume and variety of products we offer, as well as the geographical scope of our sales and production facilities. Our business growth could place a significant strain on our managerial, operational and financial resources. Our ability to manage future growth will depend on our ability to continue to implement and improve operational, financial and management information systems on a timely basis and to expand, train, motivate and manage our workforce. Our personnel, systems, procedures and controls may not be adequate to support our future growth. Failure to effectively manage our expansion may lead to increased costs, a decline in sales and reduced profitability.

Our expansion strategy may not prove successful and could adversely affect our existing business.

Our growth strategy includes the expansion of our manufacturing operations, including new production lines and agricultural operations. We plan to expand our sales in China and internationally. We will need to engage in various forms of promotional and marketing activities in order to further develop the branding of our products and to increase our market share in new and existing markets. The implementation of this strategy may involve large transactions and present financial, managerial and operational challenges. We could also experience financial or other setbacks if any of our growth strategies incur problems of which we are not presently aware. If we fail to generate sufficient sales in new markets or increase our sales in existing markets, we may not be able to recover the production, distribution, promotional and marketing expenses, as well as administrative costs we have incurred in developing such markets.

Our results of operations could be affected by natural events in the locations in which our customers operate.

Several of our customers have operations in locations that are subject to natural disasters, such as severe weather and geological events, which could disrupt the operations of those customers and suppliers as well as our operations. If our customers suffer from these events, their operations may be negatively impacted. As a result, some or all of those customers may reduce their orders for our products, which could adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.

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The acquisition of other businesses could pose risks to our profitability.

We may try to grow through acquisitions in the future. Any proposed acquisition could result in accounting charges, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, and increased debt and contingent liabilities, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our existing business and the market price of our common stock. Acquisitions, in general, entail many risks, including risks relating to the failed integration of the acquired operations, diversion of management’s attention, and the potential loss of key employees of the acquired organizations. We may be unable to successfully integrate businesses or the personnel of any business that might be acquired in the future, and our failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business and on the market price of our common stock.

We are subject to risks of doing business internationally. If the international market does not grow as we expect, our business and financial condition may be adversely affected.

We conduct a substantial amount of business internationally. Our export sales destinations include countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. Our international operations are subject to a number of inherent risks, including:

 

chestnut products may not be widely recognized internationally, especially in Western countries;

 

local economic and political conditions, including disruptions in trading markets;

 

restrictive foreign governmental actions, including restrictions on transfers of funds and trade;

 

protection measures, including export duties and quotas and customs tariffs;

 

currency exchange rate fluctuations;

 

earthquakes, tsunamis, floods or other major disasters may limit the imported food products; and

 

unexpected incidents related to food safety.

Any of the foregoing risks could have a material and adverse effect on our operating results.

A significant amount of our revenues is dependent on a limited number of customers and the loss of any one of our major customers could materially and adversely affect our growth and our revenues.

A significant portion of our revenues has historically been derived from a limited number of customers, particularly in our chestnut products segment. Sales to our ten largest customers accounted for approximately 16% and 15.4% of our total revenues in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The loss of any one of these customers, or a material decrease in purchases by any one of these customers, could adversely impact our revenues.

We rely primarily on distributors to sell our products. Any delays in delivery or poor handling by our distributors or third-party transport operators may affect our sales and damage our reputation.

In 2012, we sold our products through over 100 distribution service providers. The services provided could be suspended and could cause interruption to the supply of our products to domestic or overseas customers. Delivery disruptions may occur for various reasons beyond our control, including poor handling by service providers or third party transport operators, transportation bottlenecks, natural disasters and labor strikes, and could lead to delayed, damaged or lost deliveries. If our products are not delivered in a timely manner, our reputation could be harmed. If our products are damaged in the process of being delivered, we may be liable to pay for such damages incurred.

Failure of the market to accept our new products, or failure to obtain regulatory approval for our new products, may cause us to lose our competitive position in the food industry.

We introduced 16 new products in 2011 and 7 new products in 2012. We plan to introduce approximately 10 to 20 new products in 2013. The success of the new products we introduce depends on our ability to anticipate the tastes and dietary habits of consumers and to offer products that appeal to their preferences. We intend to introduce new products as well as alternative flavors, sizes and packaging for our existing products. We may not be able to gain market acceptance for our new products. Consumer preferences change, and any new products that we introduce may fail to meet the particular tastes or requirements of consumers, or may be unable to replace their existing preferences. Our failure to anticipate, identify or react to these particular tastes or changes could result in reduced demand for our products, which could in turn cause us to be unable to recover our development, production and marketing costs.

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We are dependent on certain key personnel and loss of these key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our research and development, operations and revenue.

The Lorain Group Companies were founded in 1995 by Si Chen, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Chen, together with other senior management, has been a key driver of our strategy and has been fundamental to our achievements to date. The successful management of our business is, to a considerable extent, dependent on the services of Mr. Chen and other senior management. We compete for qualified personnel with other food processing companies, food retailers and research institutions. Consequently, we may either lose key employees to our competitors or we may need to significantly increase the compensation of such employees in order to retain them. The loss of the services of any key management employee or failure to recruit a suitable or comparable replacement could have a significant impact upon our ability to manage our business effectively, and our business and future growth may be adversely affected.

We face increasing competition from domestic and foreign companies.

The food industry in China is fragmented. Our ability to compete against other national and international enterprises is, to a significant extent, dependent on our ability to distinguish our products from those of our competitors by providing large volumes of high quality products that appeal to consumers’ tastes and preferences at reasonable prices. Some of our competitors have been in business longer than we have and are more established. Our competitors may provide products comparable or superior to those we provide or adapt more quickly than we do to evolving industry trends or changing market requirements. Increased competition may result in price reductions, higher raw materials prices, reduced margins and loss of market share, any of which could materially adversely affect our profit margins.

An increase in the cost of energy could affect our profitability.

Recently, we have experienced significant increases in energy costs, and energy costs could continue to rise, which would result in higher distribution, freight and other operating costs. Our future operating expenses and margins will be dependent on our ability to manage the impact of cost increases.

Our products are subject to counterfeiting or imitation, which could impact our reputation.

To date, we have experienced limited counterfeiting and imitation of our products. However, counterfeiting or imitation of our products may occur in the future and we may not be able to detect it and deal with it effectively. Any occurrence of counterfeiting or imitation could impact negatively upon our reputation, particularly if the counterfeit or imitation products cause sickness, or injury to consumers. In addition, counterfeit or imitation products could result in our need to incur costs with respect to the detection or prosecution of such activities.

We rely on an outside contractor to provide a majority of our labor.

We have hired Linyi Zhifu Labor Service Company to provide employees to our production facilities. Should Linyi Zhifu Labor Service Company be unable to continue to provide the number of employees we need, our production could be disrupted. In addition, Linyi Zhifu Labor Service Company could raise their service fees or terminate their relationship with us in the future, which may result in increased production costs.

Regulatory Risks

We are subject to extensive regulations by the Chinese government.

The food industry is subject to extensive regulations by Chinese government agencies. Among other things, these regulations govern the manufacturing, importation, processing, packaging, storage, exportation, distribution and labeling of our products. New or amended statutes and regulations, increased production at our existing facilities, and our expansion into new operations and jurisdictions may require us to obtain new licenses and permits and could require us to change our methods of operations at costs that could be substantial.

Our failure to comply with PRC environmental laws may require us to incur significant costs.

We carry on our business in an industry that is subject to PRC environmental protection laws and regulations. These laws and regulations require enterprises engaged in manufacturing and construction that may cause environmental waste to adopt effective measures to control such waste. In addition, such enterprises are required to pay fines, or to cease operations entirely under extreme circumstances, should they discharge waste substances. The Chinese government may also change the existing laws or regulations or impose additional or stricter laws or regulations, compliance with which may cause us to incur significant capital expenditures, which we may be unable to pass on to our customers through higher prices for our products.

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Our failure to comply with PRC hygiene laws may require us to incur significant costs.

Manufacturers in the Chinese food industry are subject to compliance with PRC food hygiene laws and regulations. These food hygiene laws require all enterprises engaged in the production of chestnuts and various vegetables and fruits to obtain a hygiene license for each of their production facilities. Such laws also require manufacturers to comply with regulations with respect to food, food additives, packaging, and food production sites, facilities and equipment. Failure to comply with PRC food hygiene laws may result in fines, suspension of operations, loss of hygiene licenses and, in more extreme cases, criminal proceedings against an enterprise and its management. The Chinese government may also change the existing laws or regulations or impose additional or stricter laws or regulations, compliance with which may cause us to incur significant capital expenditures, which we may be unable to pass on to our customers through higher prices for our products.

Financial Risks

Our operations are cash intensive, and our business could be adversely affected if we fail to maintain sufficient levels of working capital.

We spend a significant amount of cash on our operations, principally to procure raw materials for our products. Many of our suppliers, including chestnut, vegetable and fruit farmers, and suppliers of packaging materials, do not allow us to pay on credit. However, some of the suppliers with whom we have a long-standing business relationship allow us to pay on credit. We fund the majority of our working capital requirements out of cash flow generated from operations. If we fail to generate sufficient sales, or if our suppliers stop offering us credit terms, we may not have sufficient liquidity to fund our operating costs and our business could be adversely affected.

We also fund approximately 24.4% of our working capital requirements from the proceeds of short-term loans from Chinese banks. Our average loan balance from short-term bank loans in 2012 was approximately $34.4 million. We expect to continue to do so in the future. Such loans are generally secured by our fixed assets, receivables and/or guarantees by third parties. The term of almost all such loans is one year or less. Historically, we have rolled over such loans on an annual basis. However, we may not have sufficient funds available to pay all of our borrowings upon maturity. Failure to roll over our short-term borrowings at maturity or to service our debt could result in the imposition of penalties, including increases in rates of interest, legal actions against us by our creditors, or even insolvency.

Management anticipates that our existing capital resources and cash flows from operations and current and expected short-term bank loans will be adequate to satisfy our liquidity requirements through 2013. However, if available liquidity is not sufficient to meet our operating and loan obligations as they come due, our plans include considering pursuing alternative financing arrangements or further reducing expenditures as necessary to meet our cash requirements. However, there is no assurance that, if required, we will be able to raise additional capital or reduce discretionary spending to provide the required liquidity. Currently, the capital markets for small capitalization companies are difficult and banking institutions have become stringent in their lending requirements. Accordingly, we cannot be sure of the availability or terms of any third party financing.

We are subject to credit risk in respect of account receivables.

In 2008 and 2009, some of our customers, including some of our large supermarket customers, delayed their payments for up to 60 to 90 days beyond their term. Our cash flow suffered while waiting for such payments. Consequently, at times we had to delay payments to our suppliers and to postpone business expansion as a result of these delayed payments. Starting in 2008 and through 2012, we gradually shortened credit terms for many of our international and domestic customers from between 30 and 180 days to between 30 and 60 days. Our large customers may fail to meet these shortened credit terms, in which case we may not have sufficient cash flow to fund our operating costs and our business could be adversely affected.

The discontinuation of any preferential tax treatment or other incentives currently available to us in the PRC could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our subsidiaries are entitled to certain special or preferential tax treatments regarding foreign enterprise income tax in accordance with the “Income Tax Law of the PRC for Enterprises with Foreign Investment and Foreign Enterprises” and related rules.

Accordingly, we have been entitled to tax concessions whereby the profit for the first two financial years beginning with the first profit-making year (after setting off tax losses carried forward from prior years) is exempt from income tax in the PRC and the profit for each of the subsequent three financial years is taxed at 50% of the prevailing tax rates set by the relevant tax authorities. However, on March 16, 2007, the PRC’s National People’s Congress passed a new corporate income tax law, which became effective on January 1, 2008. This new corporate income tax unifies the corporate income tax rate, cost deduction and tax incentive policies for both domestic and foreign-invested enterprises. According to the new corporate income tax law, the applicable corporate income tax rate of our operating subsidiaries has been increased to a rate of 25% over a five-year grandfather period. This tax rate increase applies across the board, for all enterprises whether domestic or foreign. The PRC government has established a set of transition rules to allow enterprises that already started tax holidays before January 1, 2008, to continue utilizing the tax holidays until fully utilized. The discontinuation of any such special or preferential tax treatment or other incentives could have an adverse affect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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In addition, under current PRC tax law, regulations and rulings, dividends from our operations in China paid to us are not currently subject to PRC income tax. If these distributions become subject to tax in the future, our net income would be adversely affected.

We may enter into additional financing agreements which may have a dilutive effect to our earnings per share and the rights of certain stockholders.

Additional financings could result in significant dilution to our earnings per share or the issuance of securities with rights superior to our current outstanding securities. For instance, we may grant registration rights to investors purchasing our equity or debt securities in the future.

We may be unable to raise additional capital.

If we are unable to raise additional financing when needed, we may be unable to implement our long-term business plan, develop or enhance our products and services, take advantage of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures on a timely basis, if at all. In addition, a lack of additional financing could force us to substantially curtail or cease operations.

We may be exposed to potential risks relating to our internal control over financial reporting and our ability to have such controls attested to by our independent auditors.

The SEC, under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, adopted rules requiring public companies to provide in their annual reports on Form 10-K a report by management with respect to the company’s disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We are currently required to comply with this requirement. In addition, such rules require the independent registered public accounting firm auditing a company’s financial statements to attest to the operating effectiveness of such company’s internal controls. However, because we are a smaller reporting company, we are not required to receive an attestation report from a registered public accounting firm. We can provide no assurance that we will comply with all of the requirements imposed thereby. Further, we cannot assure that we will receive a positive attestation from our independent auditors. Investors and others may lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements in the event we identify significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal controls that we cannot remediate in a timely manner or if we are unable to receive a positive attestation from our independent auditors with respect to our internal controls.

Risks Related To Doing Business In China

Changes in China’s political or economic situation could harm us and our operating results.

Economic reforms adopted by the Chinese government have had a positive effect on the economic development of the country. However, the Chinese government could change these economic reforms at any time. Such changes could negatively impact our operations and profitability.

The structure of the Chinese economy may inhibit our ability to expand our business.

The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, in several ways. For example, state-owned enterprises constitute a large portion of the Chinese economy. In addition, weak corporate governance practices and the lack of flexible currency exchange policies continue to persist. As a result of these differences, we may not develop in the same way or at the same rate as might be expected if the Chinese economy were similar to those of the OECD member countries.

Our business is largely subject to the uncertain legal environment in China.

The Chinese legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike common law systems, it is a system in which precedents set in earlier legal cases are not generally used. Laws, regulations and legal requirements relating to foreign investments in China are still evolving, and their interpretation and enforcement involve uncertainties. These uncertainties could limit the legal protections available to foreign investors, such as the right of foreign enterprises to hold required business licenses and permits.

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It may be difficult for our stockholders to affect service of process against our subsidiaries or our officers and directors.

Our operating subsidiaries were organized under the laws of China and substantially all of their assets are located outside the U.S. In addition, our executive officers and directors are residents of China and substantially all of their assets are located outside the U.S. As a result, it could be difficult for our stockholders to affect service of process in the U.S., or to enforce a judgment obtained in the U.S., against our officers and directors.

Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to receive and use our revenues effectively.

The majority of our revenues are settled in Renminbi and U.S. dollars, and any future restrictions on currency exchanges may limit our ability to use revenue generated in Renminbi to fund any future business activities outside China or to make dividends or other payments in U.S. dollars. Although the Chinese government introduced regulations in 1996 to allow greater convertibility of the Renminbi for current account transactions, significant restrictions still remain. For instance, foreign enterprises may only buy, sell or remit foreign currencies after providing valid commercial documents at banks in China authorized to conduct foreign exchange business. In addition, conversion of Renminbi for capital account items, including direct investment and loans, is subject to governmental approval in China, and companies are required to open and maintain separate foreign exchange accounts for capital account items. The Chinese regulatory authorities may impose more stringent restrictions on the convertibility of the Renminbi in the future.

Failure to comply with PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may have negative effects on our company.

In October 2005, the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, issued the Notice on Relevant Issues in the Foreign Exchange Control over Financing and Return Investment Through Special Purpose Companies by Residents Inside China, generally referred to as Circular 75, which required PRC residents to register with the local SAFE branch before establishing or acquiring control over an offshore special purpose company, or SPV, for the purpose of engaging in an equity financing outside of China on the strength of domestic PRC assets originally held by those residents. Internal implementing guidelines issued by SAFE, which became public in June 2007 (known as Notice 106), further expanded the reach of Circular 75.

ILH acquired certain interests in the Lorain Group Companies controlled by Si Chen, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Pursuant to Notice No. 75 and Notice 106, if a PRC resident has completed a round-trip investment through its established SPV but has not yet completed the required procedures of SAFE registration for offshore investment of the SPV, he must retroactively register the SPV with SAFE.

In order to avoid such SAFE registration requirements, a Japanese individual, Hisashi Akazawa, was designated as a nominee holder of ILH when ILH was established. Mr. Akazawa granted an option to our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Chen, allowing Mr. Chen to buy 90% of Mr. Akazawa’s interest in the Company at a fixed price at a future time in accordance with the terms of an option agreement between the two parties. On December 22, 2008, Mr. Chen exercised this option. In addition, on that date, Mr. Chen acquired all of the remaining shares of our company held by Mr. Akazawa. As a result, Mr. Chen is the beneficiary of ILH and may be required to register with and obtain approvals from SAFE or its agency in connection with respect to the direct offshore investment activities related to the acquisition of the Lorain Group Companies.

If the failure to identify and characterize Mr. Chen as a beneficial owner of ILH is determined by the PRC authorities to be a serious violation of the requirements of the PRC Company Law and the PRC Regulation of Registration of Companies, the Lorain Group Companies may be ordered by the company registration authority in the PRC to make corrections on its filed registration, to be fined an amount no less than RMB 5,000 and no more than RMB 50,000 or, in the worse scenario, to have its company registration certificate revoked or its business licenses canceled.

Moreover, because of uncertainty over how Circular 75 will be interpreted and implemented, and how or whether SAFE will apply it to us, we cannot predict how it will affect our business operations or future strategies, such as our present and prospective PRC subsidiaries’ ability to conduct foreign exchange activities including the remittance of dividends and foreign currency-denominated borrowings. In addition, our PRC resident beneficial holders may be subject to compliance with Circular 75. Such holders may not be able to complete the necessary registration procedures required by Circular 75.

Our financial condition is affected by the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Renminbi.

Our financial condition is affected by the foreign exchange rates, primarily the rate between the U.S. dollar and the Renminbi. In the event that the Renminbi appreciates against the U.S. dollar, our costs will increase.

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Risks Related To the Market For Our Stock

Certain of our stockholders have the ability to delay or prevent adoption of important business decisions based on their ownership of a significant percentage of our outstanding voting securities.

Mr. Chen is the record owner of approximately 44.4% of our outstanding voting securities. As a result, he possesses significant influence over our business. For instance, Mr. Chen may elect our board of directors, authorize significant corporate transactions or prevent a future change in control of our company.

Certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation may make it more difficult for a third party to effect a change- in-control.

Our Certificate of Incorporation authorizes our board of directors to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock without stockholder approval. The preferred stock may be issued in one or more series, the terms of which may be determined at the time of issuance by the board of directors without further action by the stockholders. These terms may contain voting rights, including the right to vote as a series on particular matters, preferences as to dividends and liquidation, conversion rights and redemption rights provisions. The issuance of any preferred stock could diminish the rights of holders of our common stock, and therefore could reduce the value of such common stock. In addition, specific rights granted to future holders of preferred stock could be used to restrict our ability to merge with, or sell assets to, a third party. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock could make it more difficult to acquire our company and could negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

The exercise of outstanding warrants issuable for shares of our common stock may cause dilution to existing shareholders.

There are currently warrants outstanding to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,835,064 shares of our common stock. The term of 1,753,909 of these warrants expire in April 2015, the term of 501,115 of these warrants expire in October 2012, and the term of 81,155 of these warrants expire in January 2014. The exercise prices of these warrants range from $2.81 to $4.25 per share, subject to adjustment. If holders of these warrants exercise the warrants in exchange for shares of our common stock, such issuances may have a dilutive effect on the stock ownership of existing shareholders and may harm the market price of our stock. Furthermore, if we were to attempt to obtain additional financing during the term of these warrants, the terms on which we obtain such financing may be adversely affected by the existence of these warrants.

We do not expect to pay dividends in the future, and any return on your investment may be limited to the value of the shares you acquire.

Other than a special cash dividend which we paid to holders of our common stock as of April 16, 2007, we have never declared or paid cash dividends. We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future and any return on your investment may be limited to the value of the shares of our common stock that you acquire. We currently intend to retain and use any future earnings for the development and expansion of our business.

Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

Item 2. PROPERTIES

Our primary facilities, which are owned except where otherwise indicated, are as follows:

Facility Location Approximate Size Owned or Leased
    (Square Meters)  
Junan Hongrun Junan County, Shandong Province, PRC 197,637 Owned
Shandong Lorain Junan County, Shandong Province, PRC 31,459 Owned
Beijing Lorain Miyun County, Beijing Province, PRC 22,677 Owned
Luotian Lorain Luotian County, Hubei Province, PRC 54,251 Owned
Dongguan Lorain Dongguan County, Guangdong Province, PRC 5,472 Leased
Shandong Greenpia Junan County, Shandong Province, PRC 33,332 Owned

- 21 -


We may also own or lease space for additional facilities, including refrigerated storage facilities, and smaller offices, including sales offices, located in China.

In the aggregate, we currently have land use rights to, or lease, 76 properties with approximately 344,828 square meters in the aggregate, consisting of manufacturing facilities, office buildings and land reserved for future expansion. We believe our current facilities provide adequate capacity for our current and projected needs.

All land in China is owned by the State. Individuals and companies are permitted to acquire rights to use land or land use rights for specific purposes. In the case of land used for industrial purposes, the land use rights are granted for a period of up to 50 years. This period may be renewed at the expiration of the initial and any subsequent terms. Granted land use rights are transferable and may be used as security for borrowings and other obligations.

Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we may have disputes that arise in the ordinary course of our business. Currently, there are no material legal proceedings to which we are a party, or to which any of our property is subject, that we expect to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, except as follows:

As disclosed previously on the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K on October 15, 2012, the Company announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has received a proposal letter from Mr. Si Chen, Chairman, CEO and President of the Company, to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares of the Company not currently owned by Mr. Chen at a proposed price of $1.6 per ordinary share, in cash, subject to certain conditions. Subsequently on November 9 and November 15, 2012, respectively, the Company was served, through its corporate agent, two law suits alleging, among other things, that the Board has violated its fiduciary duties in association with the proposed going private transaction by Mr. Si Chen. The two cases which were filed in the States of Wisconsin and Nevada, respectively, are described further below.

On October 24, 2012, a putative class action was filed in Nevada state court challenging the proposed acquisition. Calkins v. Chen, A-12-670690-C. The complaint asserted a claim against Mr. Chen for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with the proposed transaction. Although the complaint also listed the Company as a defendant and sought relief from the Company, it did not assert any claims against the Company. Among other relief, the plaintiff sought to enjoin the proposed acquisition. On February 25, 2013, the Nevada suit was voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff.

On October 25, 2012, another putative class action, Paul v. American Lorain Corporation, 12-cv-2503, was filed in Wisconsin state court challenging the proposed transaction. The complaint asserted claims against the Board for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, and claims against the Company for allegedly aiding and abetting those alleged breaches of fiduciary duty. This complaint also sought to enjoin the proposed acquisition, among other relief. The plaintiff has served only the Company and our former independent director Tad Ballantyne. On March 5, 2013, plaintiff moved for a default judgment against Mr. Ballantyne and counsel for Mr. Ballantyne has filed an opposition and a request for additional time to respond to the complaint. Mr. Ballantyne decided to resign from the Board to protect his personal interests as disclosed in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8K/A filed with the filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 15, 2013.

The Wisconsin suit was disclosed in the Company’s Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2012 under Part II, Item 1, Legal Proceedings, as well as in the Company’s Form 8-K/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 15, 2013 in association with the resignation of Mr. Ballantyne.

The Company believes that the two cases were without merit, and since a special committee of the Board is still evaluating Mr. Si Chen’s going private proposal, there is no ground for the plaintiffs’ allegations. Hence, the Company did not take action to defend the cases.

The Company intends to await the outcome of the Board’s evaluation of Mr. Chen’s going private proposal and defend vigorously any litigation that might continue to exist or arise at that time. At this stage of the proceedings, we cannot predict the outcome of this litigation or whether it will have a material effect on our results of operations, liquidity or capital resources.

Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.

Market for our Common Stock

Our common stock is quoted on the NYSE AMEX under the symbol “ALN”. As of March 29, 2013 the closing price for our common stock was $1.26 per share.

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales prices of our common stock. These prices reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission, and may not represent actual transactions.

    Common Stock  
    Market Prices  
    High     Low  
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2012            
First Quarter $  1.74   $  1.31  
Second Quarter $  1.39   $  1.10  
Third Quarter $  1.30   $  1.03  
Fourth Quarter $  1.45   $  1.13  
             
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2011            
First Quarter $  2.89   $  2.26  
Second Quarter   2.38     1.28  
Third Quarter   2.19     1.44  
Fourth Quarter   1.60     1.25  

Approximate Number of Holders of Our Common Stock

On December 31, 2012, there were 294 stockholders of record of our common stock.

Dividend Policy

We have not declared or paid cash dividends other than the payment of a dividend in April 2007 in connection with our reverse merger. Any future decisions regarding dividends will be made by our board of directors. We currently intend to retain and use any future earnings for the development and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

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Issuances of Unregistered Securities

On January 5, 2010, we issued warrants to three service providers. These warrants are exercisable into an aggregate of 81,155 shares of our common stock and the warrants expire in January 2014. Based upon certain representations made by the grantees of these warrants, as set forth in the warrants, the warrants were issued pursuant to an exemption from registration under Section 4(2) of the Securities Act.

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

Information for our equity compensation plans in effect as of the end of fiscal year 2012 is as follows:














  (a)
Number of
securities to
be issued
upon
exercise of
outstanding
options,
warrants
and rights




  (b)
Weighted-average
exercise price of
outstanding
options, warrants
and rights








  (c)
Number of
securities
remaining
available for
future
issuance
under equity
compensation
plans
(excluding
securities
reflected in
column (a))
 
Plan category                  
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders   1,334,573     1.58     1,165,427  
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders   0     N/A     0  
Total   1,334,573     1.58     1,165,427  

Item 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Not applicable.

Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

We are an integrated food manufacturing company headquartered in Shandong Province, China. We develop, manufacture and sell the following types of food products:

 

Chestnut products,

 

Convenience foods (including ready-to-cook, or RTC, foods, ready-to-eat, or RTE, foods and meals ready-to-eat, or MRE); and

 

Frozen food products.

We conduct our production activities in China. Our products are sold in domestic markets as well as exported to foreign countries and regions such as Japan, Korea and Europe. We believe that we are the largest chestnut processor and manufacturer in China. We have developed brand equity for our chestnut products in China, Japan and South Korea over the past 10 to 15 years. We produced 58 high value-added processed chestnut products in 2012. We derive most of our revenues from sales in China, Japan and South Korea. In 2013, our primary strategy was to continue building our brand recognition in China through consistent marketing efforts towards supermarkets, wholesalers, and significant customers, enhancing the cooperation with other manufacturers and factories, and enhancing the turnover for our existing chestnut, convenience and frozen food products. In addition, we are working to expand our marketing efforts in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. We currently have limited sales and marketing activity in the United States, although our long-term plan is to significantly expand our activities there.

Production Factors that Affect our Financial and Operational Condition

Our business depends on obtaining a reliable supply of various agricultural products, including chestnuts, vegetables, fruits, red meat, fish, eggs, rice, flour and packaging products. During 2012, the cost of our raw materials increased from $127,798,200 to $145,460,250, for an increase of approximately 13.8% . We may have to increase the number of our suppliers of raw materials and expand our own agricultural operations in the future to meet growing production demands. Despite our efforts to control our supply of raw materials and maintain good relationships with our suppliers, we could lose one or more of our suppliers at any time. The loss of several suppliers may be difficult to replace and could increase our reliance on higher cost or lower quality suppliers, which could negatively affect our profitability. In addition, if we have to increase the number of our suppliers of raw materials in the future to meet growing production demands, we may not be able to locate new suppliers who could provide us with sufficient materials to meet our needs. Any interruptions to, or decline in, the amount or quality of our raw materials supply could materially disrupt our production and adversely affect our business and financial condition and financial prospects.

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The average price that we paid for chestnuts in 2012 and 2011 was approximately $1,433 per metric ton and $1,071 per metric ton, respectively, excluding value added taxes. In past few years, increasing inflation pressures weighed on the Chinese economy, as well as on agricultural products. We do not have effective means and do not currently hedge against changes in our raw material prices. Consequently, if the costs of our raw materials increase further and we are unable to offset these increases by raising the prices of our products, our profit margins and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Uncertainties that Affect our Financial Condition

We spend a significant amount of cash on our operations, principally to procure raw materials for our products. Many of our suppliers, including chestnut, vegetable and fruit farmers, and suppliers of packaging materials, require us to pay for their supplies in cash on the same day that such supplies are delivered to us. However, some of the suppliers with whom we have a long-standing business relationship allow us to pay on credit. We fund the majority of our working capital requirements out of cash flow generated from operations. If we fail to generate sufficient sales, or if our suppliers stop offering us credit terms, we may not have sufficient liquidity to fund our operating costs and our business could be adversely affected.

We also funded approximately 24.4% and 43.8% of our working capital requirements in 2012 and 2011, respectively, from the proceeds of short-term loans from Chinese banks. We expect to continue to do so in the future. Such loans are generally secured by our fixed assets, receivables and/or guarantees by third parties. Our average loan balance from short-term bank loans in 2012 and 2011 were approximately $34.4 million and $20.9 million, respectively. The term of almost all such loans is one year or less. Historically, we have rolled over such loans on an annual basis. However, commencing 2010, the Chinese government has implemented more stringent credit policies to curb inflation and soaring property prices, which could negatively impact our ability to obtain or roll over these short term loans, and hence not having sufficient funds available to pay all of our borrowings upon maturity. Failure to roll over our short-term borrowings at maturity or to service our debt could result in the imposition of penalties, including increases in rates of interest, legal actions against us by our creditors, or even insolvency. In addition, we completed two private placement financings in September 2010 and October 2009 with net proceeds of $9.0 million and $10.9 million, respectively, the proceeds of which were primarily used as working capital. We also secured a $15 million loan from Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellshaft (“DEG”) in May 2010, which we have fully drawn down in 2011. We can provide no assurances that we will be able to enter into any future financing or refinancing agreements on terms favorable to us, especially considering the current instability of the capital markets.

We anticipate that our existing capital resources, cash flows from operations, current and expected short-term bank loans, as well as remaining proceeds from the September 2010 private placement and the loan from DEG will be adequate to satisfy our liquidity requirements through 2013. However, if available liquidity is not sufficient to meet our operating and loan obligations as they come due, our plans include considering pursuing alternative financing arrangements or further reducing expenditures as necessary to meet our cash requirements. However, there is no assurance that, if required, we will be able to raise additional capital or reduce discretionary spending to provide the required liquidity. Currently, the capital markets for small capitalization companies are difficult and banking institutions have become stringent in their lending requirements. Accordingly, we cannot be sure of the availability or terms of any third party financing.

The crisis of the financial and credit markets worldwide in the second half of 2008 has led to a severe economic recession worldwide. Furthermore, the European countries experienced severe debt crisis during 2011 and 2012 which further weighed on the global economy as well as financial market. The outlook for 2013 is still uncertain, but continuation or worsening of unfavorable economic conditions, including the ongoing global economy and capital markets disruptions, could have an adverse impact on our business, operating results or financial condition in a number of ways. For example, we may experience declines in revenues, profitability and cash flows as a result of reduced orders, delays in receiving orders, delays or defaults in payment or other factors caused by the economic problems of our customers and prospective customers. We may experience supply chain delays, disruptions or other problems associated with financial constraints faced by our suppliers and subcontractors. In addition, changes and volatility in the equity, credit and foreign exchange markets and in the competitive landscape make it increasingly difficult for us to predict our revenues and earnings into the future.

In 2008 and 2009, some of our customers, including some of our large supermarket customers, delayed their payments for up to 60 to 90 days beyond their term. Our cash flow suffered while waiting for such payments. Consequently, at times we had to delay payments to our suppliers and to postpone business expansion as a result of these delayed payments. Starting in 2008 and through 2012, we gradually shortened credit terms for many of our international and domestic customers from between 30 and 180 days to between 30 and 60 days. Our large customers may fail to meet these shortened credit terms, in which case we may not have sufficient cash flow to fund our operating costs and our business could be adversely affected.

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Results of Operations

The following tables set forth key components of our results of operations for the periods indicated, and the differences between the two periods expressed in dollars and percentages:

  2012     2011     Increase/Decrease     Increase/Decrease  
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)             ($)     (%)  
Revenue   239,673     213,222     26,451     12.4%  
Cost of Revenue   -188,565     -168,209     -20,356     12.1%  
                         
Gross profit   51,108     45,013     6,095     13.5%  
                         
Operating Expenses:                      
Selling and Marketing   -11,742     -10,514     -1,228     11.7%  
General and administrative   -7,507     -6,584     -923     14.0%  
                         
Income from continuing operations   31,859     27,916     3,943     14.1%  
                         
Non-operating Income                      
(Expenses):                      
Government grant   1225     746     479     64.2%  
Interest income   338     87     251     288.5%  
Other income   178     2,450     -2,272     -92.7%  
Other expense   -87     -733     646     -88.1%  
Interest Expense   -4,032     -2,562     -1,470     57.4%  
                         
Income before taxes   29,481     27,903     1,578     5.7%  
Income Taxes   -7,737     -6,819     -918     13.5%  
Income before Minority Interest   21,744     21,084     660     3.1%  
Minority Interest   -1,321     -1,196     -125     10.5%  
                         
Net Income   20,423     19,887     536     2.7%  

Year Ended December 31, 2012 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2011

Revenue

Net Revenues. Net revenues increased by $26.5 million, or approximately 12.4%, to $239.7 million in 2012 from $213.2 million in 2011. This increase was attributable to the increased revenues generated from sales of each of our product segments, as reflected in the following table:

    2012     2011     Increase /     Increase /  
    Revenues     Revenues     Decrease     Decrease  
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)   ($)     ($)     ($)     (%)  
Chestnut   125,101,585     110,263,973     14,837,612     13.5%  
Convenience food   79,575,069     72,887,580     6,687,489     9.2%  
Frozen food   34,996,809     30,070,553     4,926,256     16.4%  
Total   239,673,463     213,222,106     26,451,357     12.4%  

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The increase in revenue was driven by growth in both our domestic sales and exports. Revenues from sales in the Chinese domestic market increased by approximately $13.8 million, or approximately 8.8%, in 2012. As a percentage of total revenues, revenues from sales in the domestic PRC market decreased slightly to approximately 71.3% from approximately 73.7% in 2011.

In addition, in 2012, revenues from international sales to Japan, France, United Kingdom, and Spain as well as other countries increased, in the aggregate, approximately $12.7 million, or 22.6%, compared to 2011. See Note 16 to the financial statements contained elsewhere in this report for more information on the breakdown of our sales per geographic region.

Cost of Revenues. Our cost of revenues increased $20.4 million, or approximately 12.1%, to $188.6 million in 2012 from $168.2 million in 2011. This increase was attributable to the following factors, by percentage:

Category   Allocation of  
    Increase in  
    Cost  
    of Revenues  
    (%)  
Raw Materials   103.6%  
Other Allocated Overhead (depreciation, utilities, freight, equipment consumables)   2.6%  
Wages   -6.2%  

Raw material costs increased to $145,460,250, or approximately 13.8%, in 2012 from $127,798,200 in 2011, primarily reflecting our increase operation and sales. Overhead expenses increased primarily due to increased depreciation expenses and utility expenses. Wage expense decreased slightly as the company controls cost carefully and gradually upgrades its production towards automation.

The following table reflects the changes in our cost of revenues in 2012 as compared to 2011 among our different segments:

(thousands of U.S.   2012 Cost of     2011 Cost of     Increase/  
dollars)   Revenues     Revenues     (Decrease)  
    ($)     ($)     (%)  
Chestnut Products   96,325     86,986     10.7%  
Convenience Products   62,820     57,500     9.3%  
Frozen Products   29,420     23,722     24.0%  
Total   188,565     168,209     12.1%  

Gross Profit. Our gross profit increased $6.1 million, or 13.5%, to $51.1 million in 2012 from $45.0 million in 2011 as a result of higher net revenues, partially offset by higher cost of revenues, for the reasons indicated above.

Operating Expenses

Selling and Marketing Expenses. Our selling and marketing expenses increased approximately $1.2 million, or 11.7%, to $11.7 million in 2012 from $10.5 million in fiscal year 2011. The following table reflects the main factors that contributed to this increase as well as the dollar amount that each factor contributed to this increase:

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(in U.S. dollars)   Increase in  
    costs in 2012  
    over 2011  
Wages (sales personnel)   199,951  
Transportation   689,235  
Storage   443,361  
Port Fee   816,556  

The increases listed in the table above were partially offset by an aggregate of $1.1 million decreases of other factors, including sea transportation, client entertainment, and leasing expenses.

General and Administrative Expenses. Our general and administrative expenses increased approximately $923,030, or 14.0%, to $7.5 million in 2012 from $6.6 million in 2011. The following table reflects the main factors that contributed to this increase as well as the dollar amount that each factor contributed to this increase:

(in U.S. dollars)   Increase in  
    costs in 2012  
    over 2011  
Wage and Benefit   309,595  
Depreciation and Amortization   298,957  
Travel Expense   99,590  
Legal Fee   77,633  

Government Subsidy Income

Government subsidy income increased from $745,708 in 2011 to approximately $1.2 million in 2012, representing grants received mostly from the Junan County government and Hubei government to assist us in our research and business development.

Income Before Taxation and Minority Interest

Income before taxation and minority interest increased $1.6 million, or 5.7%, to $29.5 million in 2012 from $27.9 million in 2011 as a result of higher revenues, partially offset by higher costs of revenues and operating expenses, for the reasons indicated above.

Income Taxes

Income taxes increased approximately $1.0 million, or 13.5%, to $7.7 million in 2012, as compared to $6.8 million in 2011. This increase was attributable to the higher income earned in 2012 as compared to 2011, as well as higher income tax rates. Effective January 1, 2008, the PRC government implemented a new 25% tax rate across the board for all enterprises, without any tax holiday. However, the PRC government has established a set of transition rules to allow enterprises that already started tax holidays before January 1, 2008 to continue utilizing such tax holidays until they are fully utilized. The income tax rates applicable to our Chinese operating subsidiaries in 2010, 2011, and 2012 are depicted in the following table:

  2010 2011 2012
Income Tax      
Junan Hongrun 25% 25% 25%
Luotian Lorain 15% 25% 25%
Beijing Lorain 15% 15% 25%
Shangdong Lorain 25% 25% 25%
Dongguan Lorain 25% 25% 25%
Shandong Greenpia 25% 25% 25%

Minority Interest.

Shandong Economic Development Investment holds 19.8% of the equity of our subsidiary Shandong Lorain, which is reflected in the minority interest of $1.3 million in 2012 and $1.2 million in 2011.

Net Income.

Net income increased $535,170, or 2.7%, to $20.4 million in 2012 from $19.9 million in fiscal year 2011, as a result of the factors described above.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

General

Our primary capital needs have been to fund the working capital requirements necessitated by our sales growth, adding new products and expanding our facilities. In the past, our primary sources of financing have been cash generated from operations and short-term loans from banks in China. In October 2009 and September 2010, we obtained approximately $11 million and 9 million, respectively, from two private placement transactions. We also secured a $15 million loan from Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellshaft (“DEG”) in May 2010 which we have fully drawn down in 2011. Proceeds from the private placement transactions and cash drawn down from the DEG loan, together with cash generated from operations and short-term bank loans, have been primarily used to fund our working capital needs, as well as addition to our construction in progress and purchase of fixed assets. At December 31, 2012 and 2011, cash and cash equivalents (including restricted cash) were $36.3 million $30.4 million, respectively.

We expect to continue to finance our operations and working capital needs in 2013 from cash generated from operations and short-term bank loans. We expect that anticipated cash flows from operations and short-term bank loans will be sufficient to fund our operations through at least the next twelve months.

If available liquidity is not sufficient to meet our operating and loan obligations as they come due, our plans include pursuing alternative financing arrangements or reducing expenditures as necessary to meet our cash requirements. However, there is no assurance that we will be able to raise additional capital or reduce discretionary spending to provide liquidity, if needed. Currently, the capital markets for small capitalization companies are difficult. Accordingly, we cannot be sure of the availability or terms of any alternative financing arrangements.

The following table provides detailed information about our net cash flow for all financial statements periods presented in this report.

Cash Flows Data:            
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)   For year ended December 31,  
    2012     2011  
Net cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities   8,955     (2,141 )
Net cash flows provided by (used in) investing activities   (3,347 )   (16,217 )
Net cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities   8,325     17,009  

Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities for 2012 was $9.0 million and net cash used in operating activities for 2011 was $2.1 million. The increase of approximately $11.1 million in net cash flows provided by operating activities resulted primarily from a higher net income of $659,814, a higher depreciation of 571,459, and a lower increase in accounts and other receivables of $8.5 million.

Investing Activities

During 2012, our uses of cash for investment activities are primarily purchase equipments and security deposits. Net cash used in investing activities for 2012 and 2011 were $3.3 million and $16.2 million, respectively, with the increase of approximately $12.9 million resulted primarily from a $19.7 million decrease in restricted cash, $11.4 million less payment for the purchase of plant and equipment, partially offset by $10.0 million higher payment for security deposit.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities for 2012 and 2011 were $8.3 million and $17.0 million, respectively. The decrease of approximately $8.7 million in net cash provided by financing activities resulted primarily from a decrease of $13.7 million in net short-term bank borrowings, partially offset by $5.0 million increase in long term bank borrowings.

Loan Facilities

As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, we carried $28.7 million and $36.0 million short term bank loans from Chinese domestic banks. Please refer to Note 9 of the consolidated financial statements for details.

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Critical Accounting Policies

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles requires our management to make assumptions, estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements, including the notes thereto, and related disclosures of commitments and contingencies, if any. We consider our critical accounting policies to be those that require the more significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of financial statements, including the following:

Method of Accounting -- We maintain our general ledger and journals with the accrual method accounting for financial reporting purposes. The financial statements and notes are representations of management. Accounting policies adopted by us conform to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America and have been consistently applied in the presentation of financial statements, which are compiled on the accrual basis of accounting.

Use of estimates -- The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Management makes these estimates using the best information available at the time the estimates are made; however, actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

The use of estimates is critical to carrying value of asset accounts such as accounts receivable, inventory, fixed assets, and intangible assets. We use estimates to account for the related bad debt allowance, inventory impairment charges, depreciation and amortization of our assets. In the food processing industry these accounts have a significant impact on the valuation of our balance sheet and the results of our operations.

Principles of consolidation -- The consolidated financial statements are presented in US Dollars and include the accounts of the Company and its commonly controlled entity. All significant inter-company balances and transactions are eliminated in combination.

As of December 31, 2012, the particulars of the commonly controlled entities are as follows:

  Place of Attributable equity Registered
Name of Company incorporation interest % capital
    $
Shandong Lorain Co., Ltd PRC 80.2 12,837,397
Luotian Lorain Co., Ltd PRC 100 4,019,743
Junan Hongrun Foodstuff Co., Ltd PRC 100 47,483,773
Beijing Lorain Co., Ltd PRC 100 1,587,024
Shandong Greenpia Foodstuff Co.,Ltd PRC 100 2,437,670
Dongguan Lorain Co,,Ltd PRC 100 158,702
International Lorain Holding Inc. Cayman Islands 100 49,386,219

Accounting for the Impairment of Long-Lived Assets -- The long-lived assets held and used by us are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of assets may not be recoverable. It is reasonably possible that these assets could become impaired as a result of technology or other industry changes. Determination of recoverability of assets to be held and used is by comparing the carrying amount of an asset to future net undiscounted cash flows to be generated by the assets.

If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell.

During the reporting years, there was no impairment loss.

Revenue recognition -- Our revenue recognition policies are in compliance with Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 104. Sales revenue is recognized at the date of shipment to customers when a formal arrangement exists, the price is fixed or determinable, the delivery is completed, we have no other significant obligations and collectability is reasonably assured. Payments received before all of the relevant criteria for revenue recognition are satisfied are recorded as unearned revenue.

Our revenue consists of invoiced value of goods, net of a value-added tax (VAT). No product return or sales discount allowance is made as products delivered and accepted by customers are normally not returnable and sales discount is normally not granted after products are delivered.

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We believe that when custody and title of goods has been passed to our customers, or third party transporters revenue is recognized. Our industry does not call for revenue recognition under multiple deliverable arrangements.

Financial Instruments

Our financial instruments are cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, other receivable, advances to suppliers, advances to employees, bank loans and notes, accounts payable, other payable, accrued liabilities, and long-term liabilities.

The recorded values of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, other receivable, advances to suppliers, advances to employees, bank loans and notes, accounts payable, other payable, and accrued liabilities approximate their fair values based on their short-term nature. The recorded values of long-term liabilities approximate their fair values, as interest approximates market rates.

We have the accounting policy regarding financial instruments for our financial statements in 2012 and 2011. We consider it critical because our business is becoming more global in nature and the use of fair value for financial instruments has been widely adopted by accounting bodies around the globe. With financial statements that are widely accepted and comparable in many jurisdictions we will have greater access to capital locally.

Recent accounting pronouncements

On July 27, 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-02, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) – Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment. The ASU provides entities with an option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether events or circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. If an entity concludes that it is more than 50% likely that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is not impaired, no further analysis is required. However, if an entity concludes otherwise, it would be required to determine the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset to measure the amount of actual impairment, if any, as currently required under US GAAP. The ASU is effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this pronouncement will not have a material impact on its financial statements.

In October, 2012, the FASB issued ASU No. 2012-04, “Technical Corrections and Improvements” (“ASU 2012-04”). The amendments cover a wide range of topics in the FASB ASC. The amendments are incorporated into two sections: a. Technical corrections and improvements, and b. Conforming amendments related to fair value measurements.

  a.

The amendments in the technical corrections and improvements section are categorized as follows:

Source literature amendments. These amendments are considered necessary due to differences between source literature and the FASB ASC. The amendments primarily carry forward legacy document guidance and/or subsequent amendments into the FASB ASC. Often, either writing style or phrasing in the legacy documents did not directly relate to the FASB ASC format and style so that the meaning of certain guidance might have been unintentionally altered.

Guidance clarification and reference corrections. These amendments include updated wording or corrected references, or a combination of both.

Relocated guidance. These amendments primarily move authoritative literature guidance from one location to another location that is deemed more appropriate within the FASB ASC.


  b.

On the fair value measurements issue, the guidance in ASU 2012-04 identifies when the use of the term “fair value” should be linked to the definition of fair value included in FASB ASC 820, entitled Fair Value Measurement. Most of the amendments are of a nonsubstantive nature. Many of the amendments relate to conforming wording to be consistent with the terminology in FASB ASC 820 for example, references to market value and current market value have been changed to appropriately refer to fair value so that the literature is consistent throughout.

In October 2012, the FASB issued ASU No. 2012-06, “Subsequent Accounting for an Indemnification Asset Recognized at the Acquisition Date as a Result of a Government-Assisted Acquisition of a Financial Institution” (“ASU 2012-06”). This amendment requires that indemnification assets recognized in accordance with Subtopic 805-20, Business Combinations—Identifiable Assets and Liabilities, and Any Noncontrolling Interest, as a result of a government-assisted acquisition of a financial institution involving an indemnification agreement should be subsequently measured on the same basis as the asset subject to indemnification. For public and nonpublic entities, the amendments in this Update are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning on or after December 15, 2012. Management does not expect the adoption of this standard has a significant effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

As of December 31, 2012, there are no other recently issued accounting standards not yet adopted that would have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In January 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-01, “Clarifying the Scope of Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities” (“ASU 2013-01”). The Update clarifies that ordinary trade receivables and receivables are not in the scope of Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities. Specifically, Update 2011-11 applies only to derivatives, repurchase agreements and reverse purchase agreements, and securities borrowing and securities lending transactions that are either offset in accordance with specific criteria contained in FASB Accounting Standards Codification® or subject to a master netting arrangement or similar agreement. The amendments in this Update are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning on or after January 1, 2013. Management does not expect the adoption of this standard has a significant effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

For public entities, the amendments that are subject to the transition guidance is effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2012. Management does not expect the adoption of this standard has a significant effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

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Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance arrangements.

Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK

Not applicable.

Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY FINANCIAL DATA

The full text of our audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2012 begins on page F-2 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.

None.

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”)) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including to our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

As required by Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act, our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2012. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that as of December 31, 2012, and as of the date that the evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures was completed, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective due to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting described below.

Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based upon the framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on that evaluation, our management concluded that, as of December 31, 2012, our internal controls over financial reporting are not effective.

The material weakness and significant deficiency identified by our management as of December 31, 2012 relates to the ability of the Company to record transactions and provide disclosures in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We did not have sufficient and skilled accounting personnel with an appropriate level of technical accounting knowledge and experience in the application of U.S. GAAP commensurate with our financial reporting requirements. For example, our staff members do not hold licenses such as Certified Public Accountant or Certified Management Accountant in the U.S., have not attended U.S. institutions for training as accountants, and have not attended extended educational programs that would provide sufficient relevant education relating to U.S. GAAP. Our staff will require substantial training to meet the demands of a U.S. public company and our staff’s understanding of the requirements of U.S. GAAP-based reporting are inadequate.

Remediation Initiative

We plan to provide U.S. GAAP training sessions to our accounting team. The training sessions will be organized to help our corporate accounting team gain experience in U.S. GAAP reporting and to enhance their awareness of new and emerging pronouncements with potential impact over our financial reporting. We have also participated in the SEC Year End Conference: An Accounting & Reporting Update for US listed Companies given by former SEC and PCAOB staff on December 2012 in Beijing, and plan to continue participate in such educational seminars, tutorials, and conferences in future..

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Changes in Internal Controls over Financial Reporting.

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation performed during the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Inherent Limitations Over Internal Controls.

Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:

(i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets;

(ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and

(iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, does not expect that our internal controls will prevent or detect all misstatements. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of such controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of internal controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of misstatements, if any, have been detected or prevented. Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of controls in future periods are subject to the risk that those internal controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Item 9B OTHER INFORMATION.

None.

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PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Directors

The following table sets forth the name, age and position of each of our current directors as well as the date that each officer began their service as a director.

Name Age Position Director Since
Si Chen 50 Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President and Director 2007
Yundong Lu 38 Chief Operating Officer and Director 2008
Maoquan Wei 66 Director 2008
Dekai Yin 60 Director 2009
William Jianxiao Wu(1) 35 Director 2013

MR. SI CHEN. Mr. Chen became our chief executive officer and director in May 2007 upon the completion of our recapitalization, and was also appointed our president in September 2009. Mr. Chen founded Shandong Lorain, our first subsidiary, in 1994, and served as the chairman of our subsidiaries since that time. Mr. Chen earned an associate degree from Linyi Normal University. Mr. Chen has been our Company’s founder and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since inception. He is the individual most familiar with our business and industry, including the regulatory structure and other industry-specific matters, as well as being most capable of effectively identifying strategic priorities and leading the discussion and execution of strategy.

MR. YUNDONG LU. Mr. Lu was appointed as our Chief Operating Officer and was elected as a member of our board of directors effective August 1, 2008. Mr. Lu joined the Company in 1994 and has held various positions since then. From April 2003 to May 2005, Mr. Lu was the General Manager of Beijing Lorain and the Deputy General Manager of our subsidiaries. From May 2005 to February 2007, Mr. Lu was the General Manager of Lorain International Trading and the Deputy General Manager of our subsidiaries. From February to August 2008, Mr. Lu was the General Manager of our subsidiaries. Mr. Lu was recognized as an Outstanding Entrepreneur in Shandong Province in 2007. Mr. Lu earned an MBA from Shandong University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Shandong University. Mr. Lu, has been our Company’s Chief Operating Officer since 2008 and he has worked with our Company since 1994. Because of his tenure with the Company, he is familiar with our business and industry, including the regulatory structure and other industry-specific matters.

MR. MAOQUAN WEI. Mr. Wei, who has served as a member of our board of directors since 2008, is a retired government official who held various positions in the government of Junan County, Shandong Province, China from 1990 to 2003, during which time Mr. Wei was responsible for overseeing the agricultural development of Junan County in the Shandong Province of China. Most recently, from 1998 to 2003, Mr. Wei was the Chairman of the Political Conservative Conference of Junan County. Mr. Wei also served as the Deputy Secretary of County Committee and Deputy Chairman of Junan County. Mr. Wei has helped lead Junan County to win numerous honors, including Top 100 National Fruit Products County and National Chestnut Base County. Although retired, Mr. Wei’s expertise and experience with the agricultural economy and resources in the countryside is invaluable to our business.

MR. DEKAI YIN. Mr. Yin was appointed one of our directors in September 2009. He has been working as the President of Zibo branch of the Agricultural Bank of China since 2004. Before that position, Mr. Yin served as the Vice President and the President at Linyi branch of the Agricultural Bank of China from 1995-2004. Mr. Yin has a degree in economic management and is regarded as a senior economist due to his distinguished expertise in the banking and accounting industries and economic development. Our company greatly benefits from Mr. Yin’s invaluable expertise in banking and accounting systems and operations.

MR. WILLIAM JIANXIAO WU. Mr. Wu was appointed as one of our directors in March 2013. Mr. Wu is the founding partner of Yi Jiu Tian Xing (Beijing) Capital Investment Advisory Co. Ltd. (“EC Capital”), which provides financial services to private companies in China, a position which he continues to hold as of the date of this Report. Before founding EC Capital, from 2006 to 2011, Mr. Wu served as an executive director of The Hina Group, a boutique investment banking firm registered with FINRA USA. During his employment with The Hina Group, Mr. Wu was involved in numerous private placements and M&A deals, such as representing Asiainfo Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: Asia) in its merger with Linkage Technologies International Holdings Limited. From 2006 to 2011, Mr. Wu was involved in the closings of transactions which in the aggregate are valued at approximately $1 billion, in the telecom and the high-tech sectors. Before joining The Hina Group, Mr. Wu worked for Datang Telecom Technology Co., Ltd. (SSE: 600198) as a sales manager. Mr. Wu holds a Bachelors Degree in Electronic Engineering from Wuhan University and an IMBA from the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management. He was also awarded the title of “Honorable MBA Alumni” by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

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There are no arrangements or understandings between any of our directors and any other person pursuant to which any director was selected to serve as a director of our company. Directors are elected until their successors are duly elected and qualified. There are no family relationships among our directors or officers.

Executive Officers

Our executive officers are appointed by our Board and serve at their discretion. The following table sets forth the name, age and position of each of our current executive officers as well as the date that each officer began their service as an executive officer.

Name Age Position Executive Officer Since
Si Chen 50 Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President and Director 2007
David She 29 Chief Financial Officer 2010
Yundong Lu 38 Chief Operating Officer and Director 2008

See the section entitled “Directors” above for information on Messrs. Chen and Lu.

MR. DAVID SHE. Mr. David She became our chief financial officer on December 10, 2010. Prior to his appointment, Mr. She held various positions, and most lately as Chief Financial Officer, at China Natural Gas, Inc. from 2008 to 2010, where he oversaw financial operations and managed the company's financial growth. His duties included the oversight of quarterly and annual filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, evaluating and executing financing alternatives, and managing the investor relations program. Mr. She also served as a securities analyst for West China Securities in Beijing in 2006. He received bachelor's degrees in mathematics and business administration from Beijing Institute of Technology as well as a master's degree in finance from the State University of New York in Buffalo.

There are no arrangements or understandings between any of our executive officers and any other person pursuant to which any executive officer was selected to serve as an executive officer of our company.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee assists our board in monitoring:

 

our accounting, auditing, and financial reporting processes;

 

the integrity of our financial statements;

 

internal controls and procedures designed to promote our compliance with accounting standards and applicable laws and regulations; and

 

the appointment and evaluation of the qualifications and independence of our independent auditors.

Dekai Yin, William Jianxiao Wu, and Maoquan Wei, all of whom are independent directors under SEC rules and the rules of NYSE Amex, are currently serving as members of the Audit Committee. Mr. Yin is the chairman of the Audit Committee and is our audit committee financial expert.

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The Audit Committee has adopted a written charter, a copy of which is available on our website on the Corporate Governance page under the Investor link at http://www.americanlorain.com, and a printed copy of which is available to any shareholder requesting a copy by writing to: American Lorain Corporation, c/o Board of Director Office, Beihuan Zhong Road, Junan County, Shandong, People’s Republic of China, 276600

Shareholder Nominations for Director

Shareholders may propose candidates for board membership by writing to American Lorain Corporation, c/o Board of Director Office, Beihuan Zhong Road, Junan County, Shandong, People’s Republic of China, 276600. Any such proposal shall contain the name, holdings of our securities and contact information of the person making the nomination, the candidate's name, address and other contact information, any direct or indirect holdings of our securities by the nominee, any information required to be disclosed about directors under applicable securities laws and/or stock exchange requirements, information regarding related party transactions with our company and/or the stockholder submitting the nomination; any actual or potential conflicts of interest, the nominee's biographical data, current public and private company affiliations, employment history and qualifications and status as "independent" under applicable securities laws and stock exchange requirements. Nominees proposed by stockholders will receive the same consideration as other nominees.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our executive officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of our common stock to file initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we also refer to throughout this report as the SEC. Based solely on our review of the copies of such forms furnished to us and written representations from our executive officers, directors and such beneficial owners, we believe that all filing requirements of Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act were timely complied with during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.

Code of Ethics

Our Board adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to all of our directors, executive officers, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer, and employees. The Code of Ethics addresses, among other things, honesty and ethical conduct, conflicts of interest, compliance with laws, regulations and policies, including disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws, confidentiality, trading on inside information, and reporting of violations of the code. The Code of Ethics is available on the Corporate Governance page of our website under the Investor link at www.americanlorain.com, and a copy of the Code of Ethics is available to any shareholder requesting a copy by writing to: American Lorain Corporation, c/o Board of Director Office, Beihuan Zhong Road, Junan County, Shandong, China 276600. We intend to disclose on our website, in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, amendments to, or waivers from, our Code of Ethics.

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth information concerning all compensation earned by our named executive officers in 2010, 2011 and 2012 for services provided to us and our subsidiaries. None of our current executive officers earned compensation that exceeded $100,000 in 2010, 2011 or 2012.

Name and
Principal
Position


Year

Salary
($)

Stock Awards
($) (1)

Option Awards
($) (2)
All Other
Compensation
($) (3)

Total
($)
Si Chen
Chief
Executive
Officer
2010
2011
2012
66,000
66,000
66,000
-
-

-
-

-
-

66,000
66,000
66,000
David She
Chief Financial
Officer
2011
2012
72,727
90,909






72,727
90,909

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(1)

This column represents the fair value of the stock award on the grant date determined in accordance with the provisions of ASC 718. See Note 18 to the financial statements included in our original Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 for the assumptions made in the valuation of these awards.

 

 

(2)

This column represents the fair value of the stock option on the grant date determined in accordance with the provisions of ASC 718. See Note 18 to the financial statements included in our original Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 for the assumptions made in the valuation of this award.

Pursuant to Mr. Chen’s employment agreement, we paid Mr. Chen a base salary of $66,000 in cash in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Mr. Chen’s employment agreement does not provide any change in control or severance benefits and we do not have any separate change-in-control agreements with Mr. Chen or any of our other executive officers.

Pursuant to Mr. She’s employment agreement, dated October 22, 2010, we are obligated to pay Mr. She a base salary of $72,727 for the first year of employment and $90,909 for the second year of employment. Mr. She’s employment agreement does not provide any change -in -control or severance benefits.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End

  Option Awards Stock Awards
             






Name
(a)
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Exercisable
(b)
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Unexercisable
(c) (1)




Option Exercise
Price
($)
(e)





Option Expiration
Date
(f)


Number of Shares
or Units of Stock
That Have Not
Vested
(#)
(g)


Market Value of
Shares or Units of
Stock That Have
Not Vested
($)
(h)
YundongLu 33,580   $1.58 7/27/14    

(1)

Options vest 33% per year over 3 years from date of grant.

Pursuant to our 2009 Incentive Stock Plan, if an employee is terminated for any reason other than disability or death, then the employee shall have the right to exercise the portions of any option which was exercisable as of the date of such termination, in whole or in part, not less than 30 days nor more than three months after such termination. However, in the event of "termination for good cause," the options shall automatically terminate as of the termination of employment.

With respect to non-statutory options granted to employees, directors or consultants, the Board may specify such period for exercise as the Board deems reasonable and appropriate, not less than 30 days following termination of employment or services (except that in the case of "termination for cause" or removal of a director, the option shall automatically terminate as of the termination of employment or services). The option may be exercised only with respect to installments that the optionee could have exercised at the date of termination of employment or services.

If an optionee dies while employed by, engaged as a consultant to, or serving as a director of the company, the portion of such optionee's option which was exercisable at the date of death may be exercised, in whole or in part, by the estate of the decedent or by a person succeeding to the right to exercise such option at any time within (i) a period, as determined by the Board, of not less than six months nor more than one year after the optionee's death or (ii) during the remaining term of the option, whichever is the lesser. The option may be so exercised only with respect to installments exercisable at the time of optionee's death and not previously exercised by the optionee.

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Director Compensation

On August 1, 2008, Mr. Hao Chen, Mr. David Yaudoon Chiang and Mr. Maoquan Wei were appointed as independent members of our Board and as members of our Board committees. On September 17, 2009, Mr. Chiang and Mr. Hao Chen resigned from the Board. Mr. Hao Chen was paid RMB 100,000 (approximately US $14,641) per year for his Board and Board committee service. Mr. Chiang was paid US $25,000 per year plus US $5,000 for each board meeting attended by Mr. Chiang, as compensation for his Board and Board committee service. Mr. Wei is paid RMB 100,000 (approximately US $14,641) per year. In addition, in 2009 we granted stock options and stock awards to Messrs. Hao Chen, Chiang and Wei under our 2009 Incentive Stock Option Plan, as set forth in the table below.

On September 17, 2009, Messrs. Dekai Yin, Yongjun Li and Tad Ballantyne were appointed as independent members of our Board and as members of our Board committees. Messrs. Yin, Li and Ballantyne are paid RMB 100,000 (approximately US $15,493) per year. Mr. Yongjun Li resigned as a Director effective May 18, 2012. Mr. Ballantyne resigned as a Director effective March 7, 2013. Mr. William Jianxiao Wu was appointed as a Director of the Board on March 11, 2013.

We may reimburse our non-employee directors for reasonable travel expenses related to attendance at board or board committee meetings. In 2012, we did not make any such reimbursements.

Our policy is not to pay compensation to directors who are also employees of the Company or its subsidiaries. As a result, Mr. Si Chen and Mr. Yundong Lu did not receive any compensation in 2012 for their service as directors.

The following table reflects the compensation earned by our directors in 2012:

Name Fees Earned Stock Option All Other Total
  or Paid in Awards Awards Compensation ($)
  Cash ($) ($) ($) ($)  
Maoquan Wei 15,493 - - - 15,493
Dekai Yin 15,493 - - - 15,493
Tad Ballantyne (former director) 15,493 - - - 15,493

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

Please see Part II, Item 5 above for a tabular representation of our equity compensation plan.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

The following table sets forth information regarding beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 29, 2013 (i) by each person who is known by us to beneficially own more than 5% of our common stock; (ii) by each of our named executive officers and directors and (iii) by all of our officers and directors as a group. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC that deem shares to be beneficially owned by any person who has voting or investment power with respect to such shares. Except as otherwise indicated, the persons listed below have advised us that they have direct sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares listed as owned by them.

Unless otherwise specified, the address of each of the persons set forth below is c/o American Lorain Corporation, Beihuan Zhong Road, Junan County, Shandong, China 276600.

In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 34,616,714 shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 29, 2013.

Name and title of beneficial owner
Amount and nature of beneficial
ownership
Percent of class
Mr. Si Chen, Chairman, CEO and President 15,354,031 44.4%
Jayhawk Capital Management (1) 3,448,094 10.0%
Tongley Investments Ltd. (2) 3,618,421 10.5%
Mr. David She, CFO - *
Mr. Yundong Lu, COO and Director 34,307 *
Mr. Dekai Yin, Director - *
Mr. Maoquan Wei, Director 8,234 *
Mr. William Jianxiao Wu, Director - *
All officers and directors as a group (6 persons) 15,396,572 44.5%

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* Less than 1%

(1) Based on information supplied by Jayhawk Capital Management, LLC, Jayhawk Private Equity Fund, L.P., Jayhawk Private Equity Co-Invest Fund, L.P., Jayhawk Private Equity GP, L.P., and Kent C. McCarthy in a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 6, 2013.

(2) Based on information supplied by Tongley Investment Ltd. in a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 5, 2013. The address of Tongley Investment Ltd. is P.O. Box 957, Offshore Incorporations Centre, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.

Related Party Transactions

Since January 1, 2008, there have been no transactions between members of management, five percent stockholders, affiliates, promoters or finders.

Director Independence

Our board has determined that Messrs. Yin, Wu and Wei satisfy the criteria for independence under NYSE Amex and SEC rules for independence of directors and of committee members.

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES.

Audit Fees. We paid aggregate fees of approximately $141,000 and $138,500 for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively, to Samuel H. Wong & Co., LLP for professional services rendered by such firm for the audit and review of the financial statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K and for the review of the financial statements included in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

Audit-Related Fees. We paid aggregate fees to Samuel H. Wong & Co., LLP of approximately $7,653 and $2,831 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 for travel expenses, respectively.

Tax Fees. We paid aggregate fees of approximately $5,000 for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 to Samuel H. Wong & Co., LLP for professional services rendered for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.

- 38 -


Board of Directors Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

The Audit Committee has the sole authority to review in advance and grant any pre–approvals of (i) all auditing services to be provided by the independent auditor, (ii) all significant non–audit services to be provided by the independent auditors as permitted by Section 10A of the Exchange Act, and (iii) all fees and the terms of engagement with respect to such services, except that the Audit Committee may delegate the authority to pre–approve non–audit services to one or more of its committee members who will present its decisions to the full Audit Committee at the first meeting following such decision. Following the Company’s establishment of an Audit Committee on August 1, 2008, all audit and non–audit services performed by Samuel H. Wong & Co., LLP during fiscal 2011 and 2012 were pre–approved pursuant to the procedures outlined above. Prior to the establishment of the Audit Committee, all services of the independent auditors were approved by the full board of directors.

PART IV

Item 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

(a) (1 and 2) Financial Statement and Schedules
The financial statements contained in the “Audited Financial Statements” beginning on page F-2 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

(b) Exhibits

- 39 -



Exhibit No. Description
3.1

Articles of Incorporation of the registrant, as filed with the Nevada Secretary of State on June 15, 2009, Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s registration statement on Form S-3 filed on January 29, 2010.

3.2

Bylaws of the registrant, as filed with the Nevada Secretary of State on June 15, 2009, Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the registrant’s registration statement on Form S-3 filed on January 29, 2010.

4.1

Certificate of Designation of Series A Voting Convertible Preferred Stock of the registrant as filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware on April 9, 2007. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8- K filed on May 9, 2007 in commission file number 0- 31619.

4.2

Certificate of Designation of Series B Voting Convertible Preferred Stock of registrant as filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware on April 30, 2007. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on May 9, 2007.

4.3

Form of Series A Warrant. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on October 29, 2009.

4.4

Form of Series B Warrant. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on October 29, 2009.

4.5

Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of October 28, 2009. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on October 29, 2009.

4.6

Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of September 9, 2010, by and among American Lorain Corporation and the purchasers named therein. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.3 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on September 13, 2010.

4.7

Stockholder Agreement, dated as of September 9, 2010, by and among American Lorain Corporation, the purchasers named therein and Si Chen. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.4 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on September 13, 2010.

10.1

Securities Purchase Agreement dated as of October 28, 2009, by and between American Loan Corporation and the purchasers named therein. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on October 29, 2009 .

10.2

Securities Purchase Agreement dated as of September 9, 2010, by and among American Loan Corporation, Si Chen and the purchasers named therein. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on September 13, 2010.

10.3

Make Good Escrow Agreement, dated as of September 9, 2010, by and among American Lorain Corporation, the purchasers named therein, Si Chen and the collateral agent named therein. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on September 13, 2010.

10.4

Loan Agreement, dated May 31, 2010, between Junan Hongrun Foodstuff Co. Ltd. and DEG-Deutsche Investitions Und Entwicklungsgesellschaft MBH. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.12 to the registrant’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on August 11, 2010.

14

Business Ethics Policy and Code of Conduct, adopted on April 30, 2007. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 14 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on May 9, 2007.

21

List of subsidiaries of the registrant. *

23.1

Consent of Samuel H. Wong & Co., LLP *

31.1

Certification of Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 *

31.2

Certification of Chief Financial Officer, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 *

32.1

Certification of Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 *

32.2

Certification of Chief Financial Officer, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 *

* Filed herewith

- 40 -


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

  AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
   
  By:/s/ Si Chen
March 30, 2013 Si Chen
(Date Signed) President, Director and Chief Executive
  Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this annual report has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature Title Date
     
     
  President , Director and Chief March 30, 2013
  Executive Officer   
/s/ Si Chen (Principal Executive Officer)  
Si Chen    
     
  Chief Financial Officer   
 (Principal Financial Officer and   
  Principal   
/s/ David She Accounting Officer) March 30, 2013
David She    
     
/s/ Yundong Lu Chief Operating Officer and Director March 30, 2013
Yundong Lu    
     
/s/ Dekai Yin Director March 30, 2013
Dekai Yin    
     
/s/ Maoquan Wei Director March 30, 2013
Maoquan Wei    
     
/s/ William Jianxiao Wu Director March 30, 2013
William Jianxiao Wu    

- 41 -


 

AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION

AUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011

(Stated in US Dollars)

 


AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION

CONTENTS PAGES
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM F-1
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS F-2 – F-3
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME F-4
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS F-5 – F-6
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY F-7
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  F-8 – F-30


REPORT OF REGISTERED INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To: The Board of Directors and Stockholders of
American Lorain Corporation

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of American Lorain Corporation as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 and the related consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income, stockholders' equity and cash flows for the years then ended. These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of American Lorain Corporation as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

San Mateo, California WWC, P.C.
March 14, 2013 Certified Public Accountants


AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AT DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

 

  Note     At December 31,     At December 31,  

 

        2012     2011  

ASSETS

                 

   Current assets

                 

      Cash and cash equivalents

  2(d) $  32,345,603   $  17,353,494  

      Restricted cash

  3     3,998,956     13,017,371  

      Trade accounts receivable

  4     48,734,017     41,469,880  

      Other receivables

  5     4,861,280     6,147,550  

      Inventory

  6     38,072,704     34,348,997  

      Advance to suppliers

        22,295,529     15,772,736  

      Prepaid expenses and taxes

        381,905     132,710  

      Deferred tax asset

        175,211     164,394  

      Security deposits and other Assets

        9,293,615     16,373  

         Total current assets

      $  160,158,820   $  128,423,505  

 

                 

   Non-current assets

                 

      Investment

        270,019     472,270  

      Property, plant and equipment, net

  7     84,639,726     84,377,306  

      Land use rights, net

  8     5,296,668     5,425,252  

TOTAL ASSETS

      $  250,365,233   $  218,698,333  

 

                 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

                 

   Current liabilities

                 

      Short-term bank loans

  9   $  28,725,143   $  36,018,450  

      Long-term debt – current portion

  12     4,226,107     57,066  

      Accounts payable

        3,646,560     3,900,317  

      Taxes payable

  10     5,005,346     4,237,142  

      Accrued liabilities and other payables

  11     979,797     1,938,759  

      Customers deposits

        1,428     -  

         Total current liabilities

      $  42,584,381   $  46,151,734  

 

                 

   Long-term liabilities

                 

      Long-term bank loans

  12     14,382,306     15,597,831  

      Notes payable

        12,696,196     -  

 

                 

TOTAL LIABILITIES

      $  69,662,883   $  61,749,565  

See Accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements and Accountant’s Report

F-2


AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AT DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

  Note     At December 31,     At December 31,  

 

        2012     2011  

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

   Preferred Stock, $.001 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized; 0 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively

      -     -  

   Common stock, $0.001 par value, 200,000,000 shares authorized; 34,616,714 and 34,507,874 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively

  13     34,617     34,508  

   Additional paid-in capital

        53,487,389     53,015,636  

   Statutory reserves

  2(r)   16,922,494     13,976,899  

   Retained earnings

        84,097,961     65,939,713  

   Accumulated other comprehensive income

        16,210,661     15,353,885  

   Non-controlling interests

  14     9,949,228     8,628,127  

 

                 

TOTAL STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY

    $ 180,702,350   $  156,948,768  

 

                 

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY

    $ 250,365,233   $  218,698,333  

See Accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements and Accountant’s Report

F-3



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

 

    For the years ended December 31,  

 

Note   2012     2011  

 

             

Net revenues

2(t),15 $  239,673,463   $  213,222,106  

Cost of revenues

    (188,565,488 )   (168,208,856 )

   Gross profit

  $  51,107,975   $  45,013,250  

 

             

Operating expenses

             

Selling and marketing expenses

    (11,741,692 )   (10,513,567 )

General and administrative expenses

    (7,506,881 )   (6,583,851 )

 

    (19,248,573 )   (17,097,418 )

 

             

Operating income

  $  31,859,402   $  27,915,832  

 

             

Government subsidy income

    1,225,227     745,708  

Interest income

    338,027     86,562  

Other income

    177,728     2,449,950  

Other expenses

    (86,824 )   (733,179 )

Interest expense

    (4,032,148 )   (2,561,700 )

 

             

 

             

Earnings before tax

  $  29,481,412   $  27,903,173  

 

             

Income tax

2(q),16   (7,737,643 )   (6,819,245 )

 

             

Net income

  $  21,743,769   $  21,083,928  

 

             

Other comprehensive income:

             

   Foreign currency translation gain

    856,776     5,972,198  

Comprehensive Income

    22,600,545     27,056,126  

Net income attributable to:

             

 

             

-Common stockholders

  $  20,422,668   $  19,887,498  

-Non-controlling interest

    1,321,101     1,196,430  

 

  $  21,743,769   $  21,083,928  

 

             

 

             

Earnings per share

2(u), 17            

   - Basic

  $  0.59   $  0.58  

   - Diluted

  $  0.59   $  0.57  

 

             

Weighted average shares outstanding

             

   - Basic

    34,533,817     34,445,972  

   - Diluted

    34,533,817     34,726,494  

See Accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements and Accountant’s Report

F-4



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOW
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

 

  For the years ended  

 

  December 31  

 

  2012     2011  

Cash flows from operating activities

           

Net income

$  21,743,769   $  21,083,928  

   Stock and share based compensation

  503,493     644,243  

   Depreciation of fixed assets

  2,767,511     2,196,052  

   Amortization of intangible assets

  186,994     155,754  

   Write down/(gain) of short-term investments

  -     (94,058 )

   Adjustment to statutory reserve

  681,175     -  

   (Increase)/decrease in accounts & other receivables

  (12,499,231 )   (21,015,097 )

   (Increase)/decrease in inventories

  (3,723,707 )   (4,541,799 )

   (Increase)/decrease in prepayment

  (249,195 )   301,351  

   (Increase)/decrease in deferred tax asset

  (10,818 )   (60,681 )

   Increase/(decrease) in accounts and other payables

  (444,515 )   (810,763 )

     Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities

$  8,955,476   $  (2,141,070 )

 

           

Cash flows from investing activities

           

   Sale/(Proceeds) from short-term investment

  -     9,447,585  

   Purchase of plant and equipment

  (3,029,930 )   (14,478,351 )

   Payment for the purchase of land use rights

  (58,410 )   (703,569 )

   (Increase)/decrease in restricted cash

  9,018,415     (10,708,473 )

   Decrease (Increase) in deposit

  (9,277,243 )   697,783  

   Purchase of long-term investment

  -     (472,270 )

   Net cash used in investing activities

$  (3,347,168 ) $  (16,217,295 )

Cash flows from financing activities

           

   Repayment of bank borrowings

  (12,347,050 )   (34,366,292 )

   Proceeds from bank borrowings

  5,123,419     45,058,403  

   Proceeds from long-term borrowings and notes payable

  15,580,037     10,566,901  

   Repayment of notes

  -     (4,249,977 )

   Issuance of common stock

  109     -  

   Repayment of financing cost (APIC)

  (31,740 )   -  

   Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities

$  8,324,775   $  17,009,035  

 

           

Net Increase/(decrease) of Cash and Cash Equivalents

  13,933,083     (1,349,330 )

 

           

Effect of foreign currency translation on cash and cash equivalents

  1,059,026     5,972,198  

 

           

Cash and cash equivalents–beginning of period

  17,353,494     12,730,626  

Cash and cash equivalents–end of period

  32,345,603     17,353,494  

 

           

Supplementary cash flow information:

           

      Interest received

$  322,285   $  86,562  

See Accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements and Accountant’s Report

F-5



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOW
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

Interest paid

$  3,891,864   $  2,261,004  

Income taxes paid

$  7,233,483   $  6,871,539  

See Accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements and Accountant’s Report

F-6



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(STATED IN US DOLLARS)

 

                                Accumulated              

 

  Number           Additional                 Other     Non-        

 

  Of     Common     Paid-in     Statutory     Retained     Comprehensive     Controlling        

 

  Shares     Stock     Capital     Reserves     Earnings     Income     Interests     Total  

 

                                               

Balance, January 1, 2011

  34,419,709   $  34,420   $ 52,371,481   $ 11,340,739   $ 48,688,375   $ 9,475,745   $  7,431,697   $ 129,342,457  

Issuance of share based compensation

  88,165     88     644,155     -     -     -     -     644,243  

Net income

  -     -     -     -     21,083,928     -     -     21,083,928  

Appropriations to statutory reserves

  -     -     -     2,636,160     (2,636,160 )   -     -     -  

Allocation to non-controlling interests

  -     -     -     -     (1,196,430 )   -     1,196,430     -  

Unrealized gain (loss) on investment

  -     -     -     -     -     (94,058 )   -     (94,058 )

Foreign currency translation adjustment

  -     -     -     -     -     5,972,198     -     5,972,198  

 

                                               

Balance, December 31, 2011

  34,507,874     34,508     53,015,636     13,976,899     65,939,713     15,353,885     8,628,127     156,948,768  

 

                                               

Balance, January 1, 2012

  34,507,874     34,508     53,015,636     13,976,899     65,939,713     15,353,885     8,628,127     156,948,768  

Issuance of share based compensation

  108,840     109     503,493     -     -     -     -     503,602  

Repayment of financing cost

  -     -     (31,740 )   -     -     -     -     (31,740 )

Net income

  -     -     -     -     21,743,769     -     -     21,743,769  

Allocation to non-controlling interests

  -     -     -     -     (1,321,101 )   -     1,321,101     -  

Appropriations to statutory reserve

  -     -           2,264,420     (2,264,420 )   -     -     -  

Adjustment to statutory reserve 

  -     -     -     681,175     -     -     -     681,175  

Foreign currency translation adjustment

  -     -     -     -     -     856,776     -     856,776  

 

                                               

Balance, December 31, 2012

  34,616,714     34,617     53,487,389     16,922,494     84,097,961     16,210,661     9,949,228     180,702,350  

See Accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements and Accountant’s Report

F-7



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

1.

ORGANIZATION, BASIS OF PRESENTATION, AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES


  (a)

Organization history of American Lorain Corporation (formerly known as Millennium Quest, Inc.)

     
 

American Lorain Corporation (the “Company” or “ALN”) was originally a Delaware corporation incorporated on February 4, 1986. From inception through May 3, 2007, the Company did not engage in any active business operations other than in search and evaluation of potential business opportunity to become an acquiree of a reverse-merger deal. On May 3, 2007, the Company entered into a share exchange agreement as described under “Reverse-Merger” below. On November 12, 2009, the Company filed a statement of merger in the state of Nevada to transfer the Company’s jurisdiction from Delaware to Nevada.

     
  (b)

Organization History of International Lorain Holding Inc. and its subsidiaries

     
 

ALN owns 100% of the equity of International Lorain Holding Inc. (“ILH”). ILH is a Cayman Islands company incorporated on August 4, 2006 and was wholly-owned by Mr. Hisashi Akazawa until May 3, 2007. ILH presently has two direct wholly-owned subsidiaries, Junan Hongrun and Luotian Lorain, and three indirectly wholly-owned subsidiaries through Junan Hongrun, which are Beijing Lorain, Dongguan Lorain, and Shandong Greenpia Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (“Shandong Greenpia”).

     
 

In addition, the Company directly and indirectly has 80.2% ownership of Shandong Lorain. The rest of the 19.8%, which is owned by the State under the name of Shandong Economic Development Investment Co. Ltd., is not included as a part of the Group.

     
 

On April 9, 2009, the Company, through its Junan Hongrun subsidiary, invested cash to establish Dongguan Lorain. Dongguan Lorain is indirectly 100% beneficially owned by the Company.

     
 

On June 28, 2010, the Company signed an equity transfer agreement with Shandong Greenpia. Shandong Greenpia was originally directly owned by Taebong Inc. and Shandong Luan Trade Company. The Company paid $2,100,000 to Korean Taebong Inc. for 50% equity of Shandong Greenpia on September 20, 2010. On September 23, 2010, the Company issued 731,707 shares of restricted stock at an agreed price of $2.87 per share to the owner of Shandong Luan Trade Company, Mr. Ji Zhenwei, for the remaining 50% equity of Shandong Greenpia. Since September 23, 2010, Shandong Greenpia was directly owned by both Junan Hongrun and ILH. As a result, Shandong Greenpia is 100% owned by the Company. Accordingly, the Company booked a gain of $383,482 which is included in the statement of income as other income.

     
  (c)

Reverse-Merger

     
 

On May 3, 2007, the Company entered into a share exchange agreement with ILH whereby the Company consummated its acquisition of ILH by issuance of 697,663 Series B voting convertible preferred shares to the shareholders of ILH in exchange of 5,099,503 ILH shares. Concurrently on May 3, 2007, the Company also entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain investors and Mr. Hisashi Akazawa and Mr. Si Chen (each a “beneficial owner”) whereby the Company issued 319,913 (after reverse-split at 32.84 from 10,508,643) common shares to its shareholders as consideration of the Company’s reverse-merger with Lorain.

     
 

The share exchange transaction is sometimes referred to hereafter as the “reverse-merger transaction.” The share exchange transaction has been accounted for as a recapitalization of ALN where the Company (the legal acquirer) is considered the accounting acquiree and ILH (the acquiree) is considered the accounting acquirer. As a result of this transaction, the Company is deemed to be a continuation of the business of ILH.

     
 

Accordingly, the accompanying consolidated financial statements are those of the accounting acquirer, ILH. The historical stockholders’ equity of the accounting acquirer prior to the share exchange has been retroactively restated as if the share exchange transaction occurred as of the beginning of the first period presented. See also Note 13 Capitalization.

F-8



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

  (d)

Business Activities

     
 

The Company develops, manufactures, and sells convenience foods (including ready-to-cook (or RTC) foods; ready-to-eat (or RTE) foods and meals ready-to-eat (or MRE); chestnut products; and frozen foods, in hundreds of varieties. The Company operates through indirect Chinese subsidiaries. The products are sold in domestic markets as well as exported to foreign countries and regions such as Japan, Korea and Europe.


2.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES


  (a)

Method of Accounting

     
 

The Company maintains its general ledger and journals with the accrual method accounting for financial reporting purposes. The financial statements and notes are representations of management. Accounting policies adopted by the Company conform to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America and have been consistently applied in the presentation of financial statements, which are compiled on the accrual basis of accounting.

     
 

The Company regrouped certain accounts in its presentation of changes in assets and liabilities in the statement of cash flows for the period ended December 31, 2012 in order to be consistent with the presentation provided for the year ended December 31, 2011. There was no impact in earnings for the regrouping.

     
  (b)

Principles of consolidation

     
 

The consolidated financial statements which include the Company and its subsidiaries are compiled in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. All significant inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated. The consolidated financial statements include 100% of assets, liabilities, and net income or loss of those wholly-owned subsidiaries; ownership interests of minority investors are recorded as minority interests.

     
 

As of December 31, 2012, the detailed identities of the consolidating subsidiaries are as follows:


    Place of   Attributable equity     Registered  
  Name of Company incorporation   interest %     capital  
  Shandong Lorain Co., Ltd PRC   80.2   $  12,837,397  
  Luotian Lorain Co., Ltd PRC   100     4,019,743  
  Junan Hongrun Foodstuff Co., Ltd PRC   100     47,483,773  
  Beijing Lorain Co., Ltd PRC   100     1,587,024  
  Shandong Greenpia Foodstuff Co.,Ltd PRC   100     2,437,670  
  Dongguan Lorain Co,,Ltd PRC   100     158,702  
  International Lorain Holding Inc. Cayman Islands   100     49,386,219  

  (c)

Use of estimates

     
 

The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Management makes these estimates using the best information available at the time the estimates are made; however actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

F-9



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

  (d)

Cash and cash equivalents

     
 

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

     
  (e)

Investment securities

     
 

The Company classifies securities it holds for investment purposes into trading or available-for-sale. Trading securities are bought and held principally for the purpose of selling them in the near term. All securities not included in trading securities are classified as available-for-sale.

     
 

Trading and available-for-sale securities are recorded at fair value. Unrealized holding gains and losses on trading securities are included in the net income. Unrealized holding gains and losses, net of the related tax effect, on available for sale securities are excluded from net income and are reported as a separate component of other comprehensive income until realized. Realized gains and losses from the sale of available-for-sale securities are determined on a specific-identification basis.

     
 

A decline in the market value of any available-for-sale security below cost that is deemed to be other-than- temporary results in a reduction in carrying amount to fair value. The impairment is charged as an expense to the statement of income and comprehensive income and a new cost basis for the security is established. To determine whether impairment is other-than-temporary, the Company considers whether it has the ability and intent to hold the investment until a market price recovery and considers whether evidence indicating the cost of the investment is recoverable outweighs evidence to the contrary. Evidence considered in this assessment includes the reasons for the impairment, the severity and duration of the impairment, changes in value subsequent to year end, and forecasted performance of the investee.

     
 

Premiums and discounts are amortized or accreted over the life of the related available-for-sale security as an adjustment to yield using the effective-interest method. Dividend and interest income are recognized when earned.

     
  (f)

Trade receivables

     
 

Trade receivables are recognized and carried at the original invoice amount less allowance for any uncollectible amounts. An estimate for doubtful accounts is made when collection of the full amount is no longer probable. Bad debts are written off as incurred.

     
  (g)

Inventories

     
 

Inventories consisting of finished goods and raw materials are stated at the lower of cost or market value. Finished goods are comprised of direct materials, direct labor and an appropriate proportion of overhead.

     
  (h)

Customer deposits and advances to suppliers

     
 

Customer deposits were received from customers in connection with orders of products to be delivered in future periods.

     
 

Advance to suppliers is a good faith deposit paid to the supplier for the purpose of committing the supplier to provide product promptly upon delivery of the Company’s purchase order for raw materials, supplies, equipment, building materials etc. Pursuant to the Company’s arrangements with its suppliers, this deposit is generally 20% of the total amount contracted for. This type of transaction is classified as a prepayment category under the account name “Advance to Suppliers” until such time as the Company’s purchase order is delivered, at which point this account is reduced by reclassification of the applicable amount to the appropriate asset account such as inventory or fixed assets or construction in progress.

F-10



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

  (i)

Property, plant and equipment

     
 

Plant and equipment are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided over their estimated useful lives, using the straight-line method with a salvage value of 10%. Estimated useful lives of the plant and equipment are as follows:


  Buildings 40 years
  Landscaping, plant and tree 30 years
  Machinery and equipment 10 years
  Motor vehicles 10 years
  Office equipment 5 years

 

The cost and related accumulated depreciation of assets sold or otherwise retired are eliminated from the accounts and any gain or loss is included in the statement of income. The cost of maintenance and repairs is charged to income as incurred, whereas significant renewals and betterments are capitalized.

     
  (j)

Construction in progress

     
 

Construction in progress represents direct and indirect construction or acquisition costs. The construction in progress is transferred to plant and equipment when substantially all the activities necessary to prepare the assets for their intended use are completed. No depreciation is provided until the asset is completed and ready for intended use.

     
  (k)

Land Use Rights

     
 

Land use rights are carried at cost and amortized on a straight-line basis over a specified period. Amortization is provided using the straight-line method over 40-50 years.

     
  (l)

Accounting for the Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

     
 

The long-lived assets held by the Company are reviewed in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic 360-10-35, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets,” for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of assets may not be recoverable. It is reasonably possible that these assets could become impaired as a result of technology or other industry changes. Impairment is present if carrying amount of an asset is less than its undiscounted cash flows to be generated.

     
 

If an asset is considered impaired, a loss is recognized based on the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair market value of the asset. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell. The Company believes no impairment has occurred to its assets during 2011 and 2012.

     
  (m)

Advertising

     
 

All advertising costs are expensed as incurred.

     
  (n)

Shipping and handling

     
 

All shipping and handling are expensed as incurred.

     
  (o)

Research and development

     
 

All research and development costs are expensed as incurred.

F-11



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

  (p)

Retirement benefits

     
 

Retirement benefits in the form of contributions under defined contribution retirement plans to the relevant authorities are charged to the consolidated statement of income as incurred.

     
  (q)

Income taxes

     
 

The Company accounts for income tax using an asset and liability approach and allows for recognition of deferred tax benefits in future years. Under the asset and liability approach, deferred taxes are provided for the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. A valuation allowance is provided for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not these items will either expire before the Company is able to realize their benefits, or that future realization is uncertain.

     
 

The Company has implemented ASC Topic 740, “Accounting for Income Taxes.” Income tax liabilities computed according to the United States and People’s Republic of China (PRC) tax laws are provided for the tax effects of transactions reported in the financial statements and consists of taxes currently due plus deferred taxes related primarily to differences between the basis of fixed assets and intangible assets for financial and tax reporting. The deferred tax assets and liabilities represent the future tax return consequences of those differences, which will be either taxable or deductible when the assets and liabilities are recovered or settled. Deferred taxes also are recognized for operating losses that are available to offset future income taxes. A valuation allowance is created to evaluate deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that these items will either expire before the Company is able to realize that tax benefit, or that future realization is uncertain.

     
 

Effective January 1, 2008, PRC government implemented a new 25% tax rate across the board for all enterprises regardless of whether domestic or foreign enterprise without any tax holiday which is defined as "two-year exemption followed by three-year half exemption" hitherto enjoyed by tax payers. As a result of the new tax law of a standard 25% tax rate, tax holidays terminated as of December 31, 2007. However, PRC government has established a set of transition rules to allow enterprises already started tax holidays before January 1, 2008, to continue enjoying the tax holidays until being fully utilized.

     
 

The Company is subject to United States Tax according to Internal Revenue Code Sections 951 and 957. Corporate income tax is imposed on progressive rates in the range of: -


  Taxable Income
  Rate Over But Not Over Of Amount Over
  15% 0 50,000 0
  25% 50,000 75,000 50,000
  34% 75,000 100,000 75,000
  39% 100,000 335,000 100,000
  34% 335,000 10,000,000 335,000
  35% 10,000,000 15,000,000 10,000,000
  38% 15,000,000 18,333,333 15,000,000
  35% 18,333,333 - -

  (r)

Statutory reserves

     
 

Statutory reserves are referring to the amount appropriated from the net income in accordance with laws or regulations, which can be used to recover losses and increase capital, as approved, and are to be used to expand production or operations. The Company transferred $2,264,420 and $2,636,160 from retained earnings to statutory reserves for the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011. PRC laws prescribe that an enterprise operating at a profit, must appropriate, on an annual basis, an amount equal to 10% of its profit. Such an appropriation is necessary until the reserve reaches a maximum that is equal to 50% of the enterprise’s PRC registered capital.

F-12



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

  (s)

Foreign currency translation

     
 

The accompanying financial statements are presented in United States dollars. The functional currency of the Company is the Renminbi (RMB). The financial statements are translated into United States dollars from RMB at year-end exchange rates as to assets and liabilities and average exchange rates as to revenues and expenses. Capital accounts are translated at their historical exchange rates when the capital transactions occurred.


    12/31/2012 12/31/2011
  Year end RMB : US$ exchange rate 6.3011 6.3523
  Average yearly RMB : US$ exchange rate 6.3034 6.4544

 

The RMB is not freely convertible into foreign currency and all foreign exchange transactions must take place through authorized institutions. No representation is made that the RMB amounts could have been, or could be, converted into US Dollars at the rates used in translation.

     
  (t)

Revenue recognition

     
 

The Company's revenue recognition policies are in compliance with Staff accounting bulletin (SAB) 104. Sales revenue is recognized at the date of shipment to customers when a formal arrangement exists, the price is fixed or determinable, the delivery is completed, no other significant obligations of the Company exist and collectibility is reasonably assured. Payments received before all of the relevant criteria for revenue recognition are satisfied are recorded as unearned revenue.

     
 

The Company's revenue consists of invoiced value of goods, net of a value-added tax (VAT). The Company allows its customers to return products if they are defective. However, this rarely happens and amounts returned have been de minimis.

     
 

The Company gradually switched its sales model from direct sales to third party distributor model and issues 1% sales incentive to distributors. The Company modified its accounting policy for the recognition of revenue accordingly. Given the circumstances of how the Company conducts its incentive program, the Company books the payments settled in cash as a contra account to Gross Revenue, and includes the amount in its reported “net revenue”. The Company has considered the guidance in FASB ASC 605-50 (EITF 01-9) and will account for its sales incentive program accordingly.

     
  (u)

Earnings per share

     
 

Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the sum of the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding and potential dilutive securities during the year. During the period ended December 31, 2012, no warrants were issued nor options were granted. For the year ended December 31, 2010, 81,155 warrants were issued to certain service providers. For the year ended December 31, 2009, 1,334,573 stock options were granted to employees pursuant to the Company’s equity incentive plan; 2,255,024 warrants were issued to investors in connection with a PIPE financing. These warrants and options could be potentially dilutive if the market price of the Company’s common stock exceeds the exercise price for these securities.

     
 

The Company computes earnings per share (“EPS”) in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 128, “Earnings per share” (“SFAS No. 128”), and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 98 (“SAB 98”). SFAS No. 128 requires companies with complex capital structures to present basic and diluted EPS. Basic EPS is measured as the income or loss available to common shareholders divided by the weighted average common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS is similar to basic EPS but presents the dilutive effect on a per share basis of potential common shares (e.g., convertible securities, options, and warrants) as if they had been converted at the beginning of the periods presented, or issuance date, if later.

F-13



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

 

Potential common shares that have an anti-dilutive effect (i.e., those that increase income per share or decrease loss per share) are excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS.

     
  (v)

Financial Instruments

     
 

The Company’s financial instruments, including cash and equivalents, accounts and other receivables, accounts and other payables, accrued liabilities and short-term debt, the carrying amounts approximate their fair values due to their short maturities. ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” requires disclosure of the fair value of financial instruments held by the Company. ASC Topic 825, “Financial Instruments,” defines fair value, and establishes a three-level valuation hierarchy for disclosures of fair value measurement that enhances disclosure requirements for fair value measures. The carrying amounts reported in the consolidated balance sheets for receivables and current liabilities each qualify as financial instruments and are a reasonable estimate of their fair values because of the short period of time between the origination of such instruments and their expected realization and their current market rate of interest. The three levels of valuation hierarchy are defined as follows:

  • Level 1 inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

  • Level 2 inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the financial instrument.

  • Level 3 inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.

The Company analyzes all financial instruments with features of both liabilities and equity under ASC 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity,” and ASC 815.

As of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the Company did not identify any assets and liabilities that were required to be presented on the balance sheet at fair value.

The following tables present the Company’s financial assets and liabilities at fair value in accordance to ASC 820-10:

  At December 31,   Quoted in     Significant              
  2012:   Active Markets     Other     Significant        
      for Identical     Observable     Unobservable        
      Assets     Inputs     Inputs        
      (Level 1)     (Level 2)     (Level 3)     Total  
  Financial assets:                        
  Cash $  32,345,603   $  -   $  -   $ 32,345,603  
  Restricted Cash   3,998,956     -     -     3,998,956  
  Total financial assets $  36,344,559   $  -   $  -   $  36,344,559  
                           
  Financial liabilities:                        
  Notes payable $  -   $  -   $  -   $  -  
  Total financial liabilities $  -   $  -   $  -   $  -  

  At December 31,   Quoted in     Significant              
  2011:   Active Markets     Other     Significant        
      for Identical     Observable     Unobservable        
      Assets     Inputs     Inputs        
      (Level 1)     (Level 2)     (Level 3)     Total  
  Financial assets:                        
  Cash $  17,353,494   $  -   $  -   $  17,353,494  
  Restricted cash   13,017,371     -     -     13,017,371  
  Total financial assets $  30,370,865   $  -   $  -   $  30,370,865  
                           
  Financial liabilities:                        
  Notes payable $  -   $  -   $  -   $  -  
  Total financial liabilities $  -   $  -   $  -   $  -  

F-14



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

  (w)

Commitments and contingencies

     
 

Liabilities for loss contingencies arising from claims, assessments, litigation, fines and penalties and other sources are recorded when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the assessment can be reasonably estimated.

     
  (x)

Comprehensive income

     
 

Comprehensive income is defined to include all changes in equity except those resulting from investments by owners and distributions to owners. Among other disclosures, all items that are required to be recognized under current accounting standards as components of comprehensive income are required to be reported in a financial statement that is presented with the same prominence as other financial statements. The Company’s current component of other comprehensive income includes the foreign currency translation adjustment and unrealized gain or loss.

     
 

The Company uses FASB ASC Topic 220, “Reporting Comprehensive Income”. Comprehensive income is comprised of net income and all changes to the statements of stockholders’ equity, except the changes in paid- in capital and distributions to stockholders due to investments by stockholders. Comprehensive income for the periods ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 included net income and foreign currency translation adjustments.

     
  (y)

Recent accounting pronouncements

     
 

On July 27, 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-02, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) – Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment. The ASU provides entities with an option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether events or circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. If an entity concludes that it is more than 50% likely that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is not impaired, no further analysis is required. However, if an entity concludes otherwise, it would be required to determine the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset to measure the amount of actual impairment, if any, as currently required under US GAAP. The ASU is effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this pronouncement will not have a material impact on its financial statements.

     
 

In October, 2012, the FASB issued ASU No. 2012-04, “Technical Corrections and Improvements” (“ASU 2012-04”). The amendments cover a wide range of topics in the FASB ASC. The amendments are incorporated into two sections: a. Technical corrections and improvements, and b. Conforming amendments related to fair value measurements.


  a.

The amendments in the technical corrections and improvements section are categorized as follows:

  • Source literature amendments. These amendments are considered necessary due to differences between source literature and the FASB ASC. The amendments primarily carry forward legacy document guidance and/or subsequent amendments into the FASB ASC. Often, either writing style or phrasing in the legacy documents did not directly relate to the FASB ASC format and style so that the meaning of certain guidance might have been unintentionally altered.

  • Guidance clarification and reference corrections. These amendments include updated wording or corrected references, or a combination of both.

  • Relocated guidance. These amendments primarily move authoritative literature guidance from one location to another location that is deemed more appropriate within the FASB ASC.

F-15



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

  b.

On the fair value measurements issue, the guidance in ASU 2012-04 identifies when the use of the term “fair value” should be linked to the definition of fair value included in FASB ASC 820, entitled Fair Value Measurement. Most of the amendments are of a nonsubstantive nature. Many of the amendments relate to conforming wording to be consistent with the terminology in FASB ASC 820 for example, references to market value and current market value have been changed to appropriately refer to fair value so that the literature is consistent throughout.

In October 2012, the FASB issued ASU No. 2012-06, “Subsequent Accounting for an Indemnification Asset Recognized at the Acquisition Date as a Result of a Government-Assisted Acquisition of a Financial Institution” (“ASU 2012-06”). This amendment requires that indemnification assets recognized in accordance with Subtopic 805-20, Business Combinations—Identifiable Assets and Liabilities, and Any Noncontrolling Interest, as a result of a government-assisted acquisition of a financial institution involving an indemnification agreement should be subsequently measured on the same basis as the asset subject to indemnification. For public and nonpublic entities, the amendments in this Update are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning on or after December 15, 2012. Management does not expect the adoption of this standard has a significant effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

As of December 31, 2012, there are no other recently issued accounting standards not yet adopted that would have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements

In January 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-01, “Clarifying the Scope of Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities” (“ASU 2013-01”). The Update clarifies that ordinary trade receivables and receivables are not in the scope of Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities. Specifically, Update 2011-11 applies only to derivatives, repurchase agreements and reverse purchase agreements, and securities borrowing and securities lending transactions that are either offset in accordance with specific criteria contained in FASB Accounting Standards Codification® or subject to a master netting arrangement or similar agreement. The amendments in this Update are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning on or after January 1, 2013. Management does not expect the adoption of this standard has a significant effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

For public entities, the amendments that are subject to the transition guidance is effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2012. Management does not expect the adoption of this standard has a significant effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

3.

RESTRICTED CASH

   

Restricted Cash represents interest bearing deposits placed with banks to secure banking facilities in the form of loans and notes payable. The restriction of funds is based on time. The funds that collateralize loans are held for 60 days in savings account that pay interest at the prescribed national daily savings account rate. For funds that underline notes payable, the cash is deposited in six month time deposits that pay interest at the national time deposit rate.

   
4.

TRADE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE


      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Trade accounts receivable $  49,177,915   $  41,849,573  
  Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts   (443,898 )   (379,693 )
    $  48,734,017   $  41,469,880  

  Allowance for bad debt:   12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Beginning balance $  (379,693 ) $  (335,902 )
  Additions to allowance   (64,205 )   (43,791 )
  Bad debt written-off   -     -  
  Ending balance $  (443,898 ) $  (379,693 )

F-16



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)
   

The Company offers credit terms of between 30 to 60 days to most of their domestic customers, including supermarkets and wholesalers, around 90 days to most of their international customers, and between 0 to 15 days for most of the third-party distributors the Company works with.

   
5.

OTHER RECEIVABLES

   

Other receivables consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and 2011:


 

 

  12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
 

Advances to employees for job/travel disbursements

  79,367     577,237  
 

Amount due by a non-related enterprise

  326,270     157,424  
 

Other non-related receivables

  76,168     319,639  
 

Other related receivables

  99,263     213,128  
 

Short-term investment sale receivable

  4,280,212     4,880,122  
 

                                                                                                                             

$  4,861,280   $  6,147,550  

Advances to employees for job/travel disbursements consisted of advances to employees for transportation, meals, client entertainment, commissions, and procurement of certain raw materials. The advances issued to employees may be carried for extended periods of time because employees may spend several months out in the field working to procure new sales contracts or fulfill existing contracts.

Specifically, the company uses every available employee to arrange purchases with desirable chestnut or other raw material growers. However, because many of these growers are in rural farming areas of China where traditional banking and credit arrangements are difficult to implement, the Company must utilize cash purchases and also must contract for its future needs by placing a good faith deposit in cash with the growers. However none of these advances to employees for delivery to the growers on behalf of the Company are “personal loans” to the employees. Advances to employees for purchase of materials in other receivables are adjusted to advances to suppliers as of December 31, 2012.

Related party receivable consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:

      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Chen, Si $  67,523   $  133,070  
  Lu, Yundong   -     896  
  Liu, Lihua   -     78,712  
  You, Huadong   31,740     -  
  Junan Hot & Roll Fast Food   -     450  
    $  99,263   $  213,128  

Related party receivable represented advances issued by management for job or travel disbursement in the normal course of business. The receivable had no impact on earnings. As with other employees, officers sign notes when cash is issued to them as job or travel disbursement.

In order to satisfy certain criteria for obtaining the long-term loan with DEG, as noted in footnote 12, Junan Hongrun lent money to Mr. Chen, Si and Ms. Liu, Lihua to purchase life insurance.

Related party receivable amounts are disclosed as other related receivables in other receivables.

On March 13, 2011, the Company entered into an agreement with Jiangsu Heng An Industrial Investment Group Co., Ltd. to sell the Company’s short-term investment in the amount of $ 7,764,577 (RMB 49,604,000) of a parcel of land located in Junan Town, Shandong Province, to construct residential buildings. The land was sold to Jiangsu Heng An at a total sale price of RMB 69,604,000 and a guaranteed gross profit of RMB 20,000,000 without consideration of profit/(loss) of the residential building project. The gain on the sale of the short-term investment excluding taxes payable was recorded as other income on the statements of income and comprehensive income. Title of the land transferred from the Company to Jiangsu Heng An with receipt of an initial deposit of RMB 15,000,000. As of December 31, 2012, a total of RMB 42,029,955 has been received and RMB 26,970,045 (USD 4,280,212) is classified as Other Receivable. According to the contract, the Company will be entitled to receive RMB 9,000,000 within 5 days after the title transfer and construction approval is complete, and RMB 27,000,000 within 5 days after the residential building main frame is completed

F-17



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

6.

INVENTORIES

   

Inventories consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and 2011:


      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Raw materials $  18,700,879   $  10,470,187  
  Finished goods   19,371,825     23,878,810  
    $  38,072,704   $  34,348,997  

7.

PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

   

Property, plant, and equipment consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and 2011:


      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  At Cost:            
       Buildings $  78,730,172   $  75,509,164  
       Landscaping, plant and tree   7,943,605     7,879,579  
       Machinery and equipment   11,374,635     10,976,564  
       Office equipment   363,306     618,558  
       Motor vehicles   839,874     467,415  
    $  99,251,592   $  95,451,279  
  Less: Accumulated depreciation            
       Buildings   (5,911,971 )   (4,141,133 )
       Landscaping, plant and tree   (2,108,661 )   (1,303,707 )
       Machinery and equipment   (5,842,946 )   (4,988,873 )
       Office equipment   (221,800 )   (391,272 )
       Motor vehicles   (526,487 )   (248,987 )
      (14,611,866 )   (11,073,972 )
               
    $  84,639,726   $  84,377,306  

Landscaping, plants, and trees accounts for the orchards that the Company has developed for agricultural operations. These orchards as well as the young trees which were purchased as nursery stock are capitalized into fixed assets. The depreciation is then calculated on a 30-year straight-line method when production in commercial quantities begins. The orchards have begun production in small quantities and the Company has accounted for depreciation commencing July 1, 2010.

F-18



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

8.

LAND USE RIGHTS, NET

   

Land use rights consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:


      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Land use rights, at cost $  6,192,379   $  6,134,845  
  Utilities rights, at cost   49,368     48,972  
  Software, at cost   57,695     57,230  
  Patent, at cost   1,497     1,485  
      6,300,939     6,242,530  
               
     Less: Accumulated amortization   (1,004,271 )   (817,278 )
    $  5,296,668   $  5,425,252  

All lands are owned by the government in China. Land use rights represent the Company’s purchase of usage rights for a parcel of land for a specified duration of time, typically 50 years. The land use rights are then amortized over the period of usage. Amortization expense for the periods ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 were $186,994 and $141,997, respectively.

   
9.

SHORT-TERM BANK LOANS

   

Short-term bank loans consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and 2011:


                                                                                                                                                        Remark     12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Loans from Junan County Construction Bank,                  
     • Interest rate at 6.710% per annum due 1/25/2012         -     1,479,779  
     • Interest rate at 6.100% per annum due 2/19/2012         -     944,540  
     • Interest rate at 7.015% per annum due 6/7/2012         -     3,337,374  
     • Interest rate at 6.666% per annum due 11/5/2012         -     1,086,221  
     • Interest rate at 6.666% per annum due 11/23/2012         -     787,116  
                     
  Loan from Junan County Agriculture Bank,                  
     • Interest rate at 7.320% per annum due 1/10/2012         -     3,148,466  
                     
  Loan from Junan County Industrial and Commercial Bank of China,              
     • Interest rate at 6.405% per annum due 4/9/2012         -     1,023,251  
     • Interest rate at 6.405% per annum due 4/24/2012         -     550,982  
     • Interest rate at 6.410% per annum due 4/24/2012         -     629,693  
     • Interest rate at 6.410% per annum due 5/10/2012         -     1,338,098  
     • Interest rate at 6.410% per annum due 6/12/2012         -     1,574,233  

F-19



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

     • Interest rate at 6.44% per annum; due 1/8/2013         1,031,566     -  
     • Interest rate at 5.88% per annum; due 4/10/2013         1,142,658     -  
     • Interest rate at 5.88% per annum; due 4/19/2013         999,825     -  
     • Interest rate at 5.88% per annum; due 4/24/2013   A     634,810     -  
     • Interest rate at 5.88% per annum; due 5/17/2013         1,348,971     -  
                     
  Loan from Linyi Commercial Bank,                  
     • Interest rate at 12.201% per annum due 1/10/2012         -     708,405  
     • Interest rate at 11.152% per annum due 12/11/2012         -     3,148,466  
     • Interest rate at 12.201% per annum due 12/13/2012         -     787,116  
     • Interest rate at 12.136% per annum due 12/29/2012         -     708,405  
     • Interest rate at 12.136% per annum due 1/10/2013         714,161     -  
                     
  Loan from China Minsheng Bank Corporation, Linyi Branch                  
     • Interest rate at 7.8% per annum due 8/29/2013         2,380,537     2,361,349  
                     
  Loan from China Agricultural Bank, Luotian Branch                  
     • Interest rate at 6.372% per annum due 9/12/2012         -     944,540  
     • Interest rate at 8.4% per annum due 3/3/2013         158,702     -  
     • Interest rate at 8.4% per annum due 6/3/2013         317,405     -  
     • Interest rate at 8.4% per annum due 9/3/2013         1,110,917     -  
                     
  Bank of Beijing,                  
     • Interest rate at 6.672% per annum due 11/16/2012               629,693  
     • Variable Interest rate, due 6/29/2013         1,269,620     -  
                     
  Shenzhen Development Bank,                  
     • Interest rate at 6.710% per annum due 2/13/2012         -     236,135  
     • Interest rate at 6.710% per annum due 3/15/2012         -     787,116  
     • Interest rate at 6.435% per annum due 6/8/2012         -     2,361,349  
     • Interest rate at 6.16% per annum due 1/30/2013         1,110,917     -  
     • Interest rate at 6.04% per annum due 9/6/2013         793,512     -  
     • Interest rate at 6.71% per annum due 10/23/2013         634,810     -  
                     
  Luotian Sanliqiao Credit Union,                  
     • Interest rate at 9.360% per annum due 1/6/2013         952,215     -  

F-20



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

  Beijing Rural Commercial Bank, Shilibao Branch,                  
     • Interest rate at 7.434% per annum due 9/6/2012         -     2,046,503  
                     
  Beijing International Trust Co., Ltd.,                  
     • Variable interest rate, due 9/16/2013         1,587,024     -  
                     
  Weihai City Commercial Bank,                  
     • Interest rate at 6.90% per annum due 3/7/2013         3,174,049     -  
                     
  Bank of Ningbo ,                  
     • Interest rate at 6.71% per annum due 9/27/2013         1,587,024     -  
                     
  Hankou Bank, Guanshan Branch,                  
     • Interest rate at 6.00% per annum due 9/6/2013         793,512     -  
     • Interest rate at 6.60% per annum due 9/14/2013         1,587,024     -  
                     
  China Agricultural Bank, Shandong Branch                  
     • Interest rate at 7.544% per annum due 12/23/2012         -     1,574,233  
     • Interest rate at 7.544% per annum due 12/29/2012         -     676,920  
     • Interest rate at 10.2% per annum due 7/16/2013   C     3,174,049     -  
     • Interest rate at 7.2% per annum due 8/29/2013   B     1,587,024     -  
                     
  China Everbright Bank, Qingdao Branch                  
     • Interest rate at 7.930% per annum due 11/9/2012         -     3,148,467  
                     
  Postal Savings Bank of China                  
     • Interest rate at 6.60% per annum due 11/26/2013         634,810     -  
                            $  28,725,143   $  36,018,450  

The short-term loans, which are denominated in the functional currency Renminbi (RMB), were primarily obtained for general working capital. If not otherwise indicated in the below remarks, short-term loans are guaranteed by either companies within the group or personnel who hold a management role within the group.

Remark:
A: Accounts receivable in the amount of was used as collateral for this loan.
B: Junan Hongrun Foodstuff Co., Ltd.’s factory was used as collateral for this loan
C: Personal guarantee from Mr. Si Chen was used as collateral for this loan

F-21



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

10.

TAXES PAYABLES

   

Taxes payable consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and 2011:


      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Value added tax payable $  428,889   $  255,327  
  Corporate income tax payable   3,370,655     2,822,321  
  Employee payroll tax withholding   4,936     6,105  
  Property tax payable   55,877     46,192  
  Stamp tax payable   1,440     9,369  
  Business tax payable   154,112     152,869  
  Land use tax payable   65,525     23,988  
  Import tariffs   454     4,956  
  Capital gain tax payable   923,458     916,015  
    $  5,005,346   $  4,237,142  

11.

ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER PAYABLE

   

Accrued expenses and other payables consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:


      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Accrued salaries and wages $  3,174   $  774,206  
  Accrued utility expenses   55,639     74,927  
  Accrued interest expenses   219,630     303,701  
  Accrued transportation expenses   290,228     172,094  
  Other accruals   103,827     95,371  
  Business and other taxes   182,378     422,100  
  Disbursement payable   87,078     38,804  
  Accrued staff welfare   37,843     57,554  
    $  979,797   $  1,938,759  

12.

LONG-TERM DEBT

   

Current portions of long-term debt consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and 2011:


      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Loans from Luotian Agricultural Development Bank            
     • Interest rate at 0.6700% per annum were due 12/11/2010   -     57,066  
               
  Loans from China Development Bank            
     • Interest rate at 7.07% per annum due 5/20/2013   158,702     -  
     • Interest rate at 7.07% per annum due 11/20/2013   317,405     -  
               
  Loans from Deutsche Investitions-und            
  Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (“DEG”)            
     • Interest rate at 5.510% per annum due 3/15/2013   1,875,000     -  
     • Interest rate at 5.510% per annum due 9/15/2013   1,875,000     -  
    $  4,226,107   $  57,066  

F-22



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

Non-current portions of long-term debt consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and 2011:

      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Loans from Deutsche Investitions-und            
  Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (“DEG”)            
     • Interest rate at 5.510% per annum due 9/16/2016   10,097,340     15,597,831  
               
  Loans from China Development Bank            
     • Interest rate at 7.07% per annum due 9/24/2015   4,284,966     -  
  $   14,382,306   $  15,597,831  

The Company’s loan with DEG began repaying the loan in semi-annual installments on September 15, 2012. As of December 31, 2012, the Company has repaid $1,875,000 in principal. The loan was collateralized with the following terms:

  (a.)

Create and register a first ranking mortgage in the amount of about USD 12,000,000 on its land and building in favor of DEG.

  (b.)

Undertake to provide a share pledge of Mr. Si Chen shares in the sponsor in the amount of about USD 12,000,000 and being the majority shareholder in the sponsor in form and substance satisfactory to DEG

  (c.)

The total amount of the first ranking mortgage as indicated in the Loan Agreement (Article 12(1)(a)) and the value of the pledged shares of Mr. Si Chen (Loan Agreement (Article 12(1)(a))) should be at least USD 24,000,000.

  (d.)

Undertake to provide a guarantee from the Shareholder in form and substance satisfactory to DEG.

Non-current portions of notes payable consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:

      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Note payable issued by Shanghai Pudong Development Bank            
     • Interest rate at 5.9% per annum due 12/28/2015   12,696,196     -  
               
                                                                                                                                              $ 12,696,196   $  -  

The note was collateralized by a restricted cash deposit in the amount of RMB 20,540,158 as a compensating balance to the note.

   
13.

CAPITALIZATION

   

Dating back to May 3, 2007, the Company underwent a reverse-merger and a concurrent financing transaction that resulted in 24,923,178 shares of outstanding common stock that remained unchanged until through December 31, 2007. In connection with the financing, the Company also issued 1,037,858 and 489,330 warrants to the PIPE investors and placement agent, respectively. During 2008, several holders of warrants issued in connection with the financing transaction exercised their rights to purchase shares at the prescribed exercise price. The holders of the warrants exercised the right to purchase a total of 360,207 shares; however, because the holders did not pay in cash for the warrants, 110,752 of those shares were cancelled as consideration in lieu of the warrant holders paying in cash. Ultimately, 249,455 of new shares were issued to those who exercised their warrant. The Company also made an adjustment to its outstanding share count for rounding errors as result of the split and reverse splits made at the time of the reverse merger. The number of shares in the adjustment was an addition of seven shares. The Company believes the adjustment of seven shares is immaterial to both prior and current earnings per share calculation. As detailed in the table below, the total number of outstanding shares at December 31, 2012 was 34,616,714.

   

During the year 2009, the Company issued 56,393 shares of stock to its employees and vendors and 5,011,169 shares to investors. The Company issued 1,334,573 stock options to employees on July 28, 2009; 1,753,909 shares of Series A warrants and 501,115 shares of Series B warrants were issued to investors on October 28, 2009.

F-23



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

During the year 2010, the Company issued 2,000 shares to a service provider on February 10, 2010 and 81,155 warrants to various service providers on January 5, 2010. The Company issued to investors 3,440,800 shares at an agreed price of $2.80 per share for a PIPE financing on September 10, 2010. This financing brought $8,955,730 net proceeds to the Company. The Company issued 5,000 shares to its employee on September 23, 2010. 731,707 shares of restricted stock were issued to the owner of Shandong Greenpia, Mr. Ji Zhenwei on September 24, 2010 as part of acquisition cost.

For the year 2010, the Company transferred 5,161,176 from retained earnings to additional paid up capital and 2,445,262 from retained earnings to statutory reserve. These transfers are to be used for future company development, recovery of losses and increase of capital, as approved, to expand production or operations.

For the year 2011, the Company transferred 2,636,160 from retained earnings to statutory reserve. These transfers are to be used for future company development, recovery of losses and increase of capital, as approved, to expand production or operations.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company issued 108,840 shares to its employees as employee stock compensation. The Company transferred 2,264,420 from retained earnings to statutory reserve. These transfers are to be used for future company development, recovery of losses and increase of capital, as approved, to expand production or operations.

American Lorain Corporation
Capitalization Reconciliation Table

  Par value authorized Issuance date Shares outstanding
Common stock at 1/1/2009 200,000,000   25,172,640
New shares issued to employees and vendors during 2009 Various dates 56,393
New shares issued to PIPE investors   10/28/2009 5,011,169
New shares issued to service provider during 2010 2/10/2010 2,000
New shares issued to PIPE investors   9/10/2010 3,440,800
New shares issued to employee   9/23/2010 5,000
New shares issued as acquisition consideration 9/24/2010 731,707
New shares issued to service provider during 2011 5/5/2011 25,000
New shares issued to employees per stock incentive plan 7/20/2011 27,092
New shares issued to employees per stock incentive plan 11/21/2011 36,073
New shares issued to employees per stock incentive plan 10/5/2012 108,840
Common stock at 12/31/2012     34,616,714

F-24



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)


Warrants and options
Number of warrants
or options

Issuance date

Expiration date
Warrants issued to investors in 2007 PIPE                          1,037,858 5/3/2007 5/2/2010
Warrants issued to placement agent in 2007 PIPE 489,330 5/3/2007 5/2/2010
Employee stock options 1,334,573 7/28/2009 7/27/2014
Warrants issued to investors in 2009 PIPE - Series A 1,753,909 10/28/2009 4/28/2015
Warrants issued to investors in 2009 PIPE - Series B 501,115 10/28/2009 10/28/2012
Issued to service provider A during 2010 50,722 1/5/2010 1/2/2014
Issued to service provider B during 2010 20,289 1/5/2010 1/2/2014
Issued to service provider C during 2010 10,144 1/5/2010 1/2/2014
Total warrants and options 5,197,940    

14.

NON-CONTROLLING INTERESTS

   

The non-controlling interest represents the 19.8% equity of Shandong Lorain held by the Shandong Economic Development Investment Corporation, which is a state-owned interest.

F-25



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

15.

SALES BY PRODUCT TYPE

   

Sales by categories of product consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and 2011:


  Category   12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Chestnut $  125,101,585   $  110,263,973  
  Convenience food   79,575,069     72,887,580  
  Frozen food   34,996,809     30,070,553  
  Total $  239,673,463   $  213,222,106  

Revenue by geography consisted of the following as of December 31, 2012 and 2011:

  Country   12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Australia $  89,573   $  363,508  
  Belgium   6,049,825     2,467,360  
  Canada   -     110,552  
  China   170,818,669     157,064,976  
  Denmark   53,922     43,656  
  France   2,344,824     2,721,435  
  Germany   208,870     1,179,298  
  Hong Kong   212,174     563,285  
  Indonesia   -     20,999  
  Israel   277,028     461,427  
  Japan   37,942,286     27,767,186  
  Malaysia   2,221,990     2,106,973  
  Netherlands   431,808     586,327  
  Philippines   413,529     382,480  
  Poland   213,943     175,410  
  Portugal   711,006     -  
  Russia   471,559     -  
  Saudi Arabia   -     33,732  
  Singapore   1,290,802     1,139,671  
  South Korea   11,845,499     9,119,942  
  Spain   147,648     1,134,021  
  Taiwan   742,669     1,353,567  
  Thailand   177,529     387,164  
  United Kingdom   2,513,634     3,797,548  
  United States   494,676     241,589  
  Total $  239,673,463   $  213,222,106  

16.

INCOME TAXES

   

All of the Company’s operations are in the PRC, and in accordance with the relevant tax laws and regulations of PRC, the corporate income tax rate is 25%.

   

The following tables provide the reconciliation of the differences between the statutory and effective tax expenses for the periods ended December 31, 2012 and 2011:

F-26



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Income attributed to PRC $  30,283,824   $  28,870,041  
  Loss attributed to US   (802,412 )   (966,868 )
  Income before tax   29,481,412     27,903,173  
               
  PRC Statutory Tax at 25% Rate   7,737,643     6,824,201  
  Effect of tax exemption granted   -     -  
               
  Income tax $  7,737,643   $  6,824,201  

Per Share Effect of Tax Exemption

      12/31/2012     12/31/2011  
  Effect of tax exemption granted $  -   $  -  
  Weighted-Average Shares Outstanding Basic   34,533,817     34,445,972  
  Per share effect $  -   $  -  

The difference between the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate and the Company’s effective tax rate was as follows for the periods ended December 31, 2012 and 2011:

      2012     2011  
  U.S. federal statutory income tax rate   35%     35%  
  Lower rates in PRC, net   -10%     -10%  
  Tax holiday for foreign investments   1.25%     -0.57%  
  The Company’s effective tax rate   26.25%     24.43%  

Effective January 1, 2008, the PRC government implemented a new 25% tax rate across the board for all enterprises regardless of whether domestic or foreign enterprise without any tax holiday which is defined as “two-year exemption followed by three-year half exemption” hitherto enjoyed by tax payers. As a result of the new tax law of a standard 25% tax rate, tax holidays were terminated as of December 31, 2007. However, PRC government has established a set of transition rules to allow enterprises already started tax holidays before January 1, 2008, to continue enjoying the tax holidays until being fully utilized.

The Company has accrued a deferred tax asset as a result of its net operating loss in and before 2012 because the Company planned to setup operations in the United States. The company anticipates that the operations within the United States will generate income in the future so that it will be able to take full advantage of the accrued asset. Accordingly the Company has not provided a valuation allowances for the accrued tax asset.

The Company’s has detailed the tax rates for its subsidiaries for 2012 and 2011 in the following table.

      China Income Tax Rate  
  Subsidiary   2012     2011  
  International Lorain   0%     0%  
  Junan Hongran   25%     25%  
  Luotian Lorain   25%     15%  
  Beijing Lorain   25%     15%  
  Shandong Lorain   25%     25%  
  Shandong Greenpia   25%     25%  
  Dongguan Lorain   25%     25%  

F-27



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

17.

EARNINGS PER SHARE

   

Components of basic and diluted earnings per share were as follows:


      For the year     For the year  
      ended     ended  
      December 31,     December 31,  
      2012     2011  
               
  Basic Earnings Per Share Numerator            
     Net Income $  20,422,668   $  19,902,367  
     Income Available to Common Stockholders $  20,422,668   $  19,887,498  
               
  Diluted Earnings Per Share Numerator            
     Income Available to Common Stockholders $  20,422,668   $  19,887,498  
               
  Income Available to Common Stockholders on Converted Basis $  20,422,668   $  19,887,498  
               
  Original Shares:            
  Additions from Actual Events            
  -Issuance of Common Stock   34,533,817     34,445,972  
  Basic Weighted Average Shares Outstanding   34,533,817     34,445,972  
               
  Dilutive Shares:            
  Additions from Potential Events            
  Exercise of Investor Warrants & Placement Agent Warrants   -     -  
  Exercise of Employee & Director Stock Options   -     280,522  
  Diluted Weighted Average Shares Outstanding:   34,533,817     34,726,494  
               
  Earnings Per Share            
  - Basic $  0.59   $  0.58  
  - Diluted $  0.59   $  0.57  
               
  Weighted Average Shares Outstanding            
  - Basic   34,533,817     34,445,972  
  - Diluted   34,533,817     34,726,494  

18.

SHARE BASED COMPENSATION

   

On July 27, 2009, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted the American Lorain Corporation 2009 Incentive Stock Plan (the “Plan”). The Plan provides that the maximum number of shares of the Company’s common stock that may be issued under the Plan is 2,500,000 shares. The Company’s employees, directors, and service providers are eligible to participate in the Plan.

   

For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company recorded a total of $166,346 of shared based compensation expense. The Company issued warrants that upon exercise would result in the issuance of 1,334,573 common shares. These stock options vest over three years, where 33.33% vest annually. The expense related to the stock options was $107,375. The Company also recorded expense of $58,971 for the issuance of 56,393 common shares to participants, respectively. The common shares vested immediately. Given the materiality and nature of share based compensation, the entire expense has been recorded as general and administrative expenses. For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company recorded a total of $890,209 stock option and its related general and administrative expenses.

F-28


AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)

During the period ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company recorded a total of $503,493 and $644,243 stock option and its related general and administrative expenses.

The range of the exercise prices of the stock options granted since inception of the plan are shown in the following table:

  Price Range Number of Shares
  $0 - $4.99 1,334,573 shares
  $5.00 - $9.99 0 shares
  $10.00 - $14.99 0 shares

No tax benefit has yet to be accrued or realized. For the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company has yet to repatriate its earnings. Accordingly it has not recognized any deferred tax assets or liability in regards to benefits derived from the issuance of stock options.

The Company used the Black-Scholes Model to value the warrants granted. The following shows the weighted average fair value of the grants and the assumptions that were employed in the model:

      2012 2011  
  Weighted-average fair value of grants: $  1.3629   $ 1.1909  
  Risk-free interest rate:   0.33%     0.96%  
  Expected volatility:   59.93%     4.58%  
  Expected life in months:   36.00     36.00  

19.

LEASE COMMITMENTS

   

The Company entered into an operating lease agreement leasing a factory building located in Dongguan, China. The lease was signed by Shandong Lorain on behalf of Dongguan Lorain and expires on August 9, 2018.

   

The minimum future lease payments for this property at December 31, 2012 are shown in the following table:


  From   To     Lease payment  
  1/1/2013   12/31/2013   $  87,536  
  1/1/2014   12/31/2014     92,685  
  1/1/2015   12/31/2015     92,685  
  1/1/2016   12/31/2016     92,685  
  1/1/2017   12/31/2017     92,685  
  1/1/2018   8/9/2018     56,641  
          $  514,917  

The outstanding lease commitment as of December 31, 2012 was $514,917.

The minimum future lease payments for this property at December 31, 2011 are shown in the following table:

  From   To     Lease payment  
  1/1/2012   12/31/2012   $  84,259  
  1/1/2013   12/31/2013     87,536  
  1/1/2014   12/31/2014     92,685  
  1/1/2015   12/31/2015     92,685  
  1/1/2016   12/31/2016     92,685  
  1/1/2017   12/31/2017     92,685  
  1/1/2018   8/9/2018     56,641  
                                            $ 599,176  

F-29



AMERICAN LORAIN CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND 2011
(Stated in US Dollars)
   

The outstanding lease commitment as of December 31, 2011 was $599,176.

   
20.

RISKS


  A.

Credit risk

     
 

Since the Company’s inception, the age of account receivables have been less than one year indicating that the Company is subject to minimal risk borne from credit extended to customers.

     
  B.

Interest risk

     
 

The company subject to the interest rate risk when their short term loans become due and require refinancing.

     
  C.

Economic and political risks

     
 

The Company’s operations are conducted in the PRC. Accordingly, the Company’s business, financial condition, and results of operations may be influenced by changes in the political, economic, and legal environments in the PRC.

     
 

The Company’s operations in the PRC are subject to special considerations and significant risks not typically associated with companies in North America and Western Europe. These include risks associated with, among others, the political, economic and legal environment and foreign currency exchange. The Company’s results may be adversely affected by changes in the political and social conditions in the PRC, and by changes in governmental policies with respect to laws and regulations, anti-inflationary measures, currency conversion, remittances abroad, and rates and methods of taxation, among other things.

     
  D.

Environmental risks

     
 

The Company has procured environmental licenses required by the PRC government. The Company has both a water treatment facility for water used in its production process and secure transportation to remove waste off site. In the event of an accident, the Company has purchased insurance to cover potential damage to employees, equipment, and local environment.

     
  E.

Inflation Risk

     
 

Management monitors changes in prices levels. Historically inflation has not materially impacted the company’s financial statements; however, significant increases in the price of raw materials and labor that cannot be passed on the Company’s customers could adversely impact the Company’s results of operations.

F-30