Asian Citrus Holdings Ltd EPIC ACHL

WEB SITE : http://www.asian-citrus.com/gyen/index.php

Shares in issue circa 61 million

Interim period end 31/Dec

Full year end 30/Jun

AGM 14th Nov 05

Est next int : 29/03/06 Est next prelim : 11/10/06

Diluted EPS for year end 30/06/05 34p

NAV : 126p per share

PE ratio : 3

Info : LINK

In my opinion this could be a bargain and a potential large riser within 12 months if the sun keeps shining. Its a plantation share yes, so its not a trading share but one to invest in by tucking a few k away, and as a plantation share it has its risks, the natural occurring type ! But on a last year PER of times 3.52 on the diluted EPS figure there is too much risk in the price and a times 15 rating of current year forecasts would be more appropriate. The market in China is of course massive and oranges and OJ are only now starting to become more popular as the trend of fitness and vitamins starts to take off in China.

The potential is massive and the new supermarket agreement (LINK HERE) shows that margins are improving in the form of direct to supermarket deals, and that a deal with a supermarket chain (Guangxi is but a tiny province of China with a very small population level compared to others) in one province can take up a large amount of production.
The other benefit is that it is well known that the RMB will be appreciating to the US dollar over time, gradually. The RMB is at near historic high levels against sterling due to the weakness of the dollar and the conversions in results are at 14.25 where a more normal level is around 12 RMB to the pound (I can still remember when we used FEC and still have some locked away somewhere ).

The rise of the RMB over time will again assist in sterling profit terms. The company has also stated that from year end 2006 a dividend will commence being paid so this all adds to my large rise within 12 months cauldron thinking. I think Evo forecasts will be beaten as well.

Evolution Securities forecasts pre-tax profits of 14.6m for 2006, with EPS of 24p and a dividend of 7.3p.

People will say plantation, people will say China and a multitude of reasons of risk but from my experience in China ventures by Overseas Chinese (HK, Taiwan and Macau) do well and not to be confused with real foreign ventures which tend not to do well.

Final comment is a quote of the Shareholder Value paragraph of the full year results

Shareholder Value

To maximize shareholders' value, the Board is committed to observing a strict set of internal financial policies. Depending on the capital expenditure plan and working capital requirements of the Group, the Board intends to adopt a dividend policy that will recommend a dividend payout equivalent to at least 10% of the net profits starting from the year ending 30 June 2006. As opportunities
arise, management will consider different ways of fund raising in order to cater for the Group's investment needs whilst maintaining an appropriately structured balance sheet. As a yardstick, to avoid over-expansion, management considers that it is prudent to maintain gearing of less than 40% of the Group's net assets and an interest coverage of not less than four times.

But DYOR ! and remember its a plantation stock !


Major shareholders :

Market Ahead 41.96
Huge Market 40.31
Henderson Global Investors 4.28
Kingston Corporate Finance Limited 3.26

Looks interesting, any idea of the free float?

Notice that 40%is held by a HK company......

barwoni not yet trying to pick up as much info as I can and will post it as and when I have it. The HK company has agreed not to sell any before Oct 2007 I am led to believe.

barwoni the link below gives the schedule 1, not many in the free float.

http://www.companyannouncements.net/cgi-bin/articles/200507280912374107P.html

Thanks PP, just about 6mill in free float, not many, any amount of Buys/sells will see
this move.....Chaoda must be one of the large holders...Who as you say are locked in.......Have a small holding but will add in stages.....

Market Ahead 41.96

Huge Market 40.31

Henderson Global Investors 4.28

Kingston Corporate Finance Limited 3.26

barwoni make that not selling until earliest Oct 2006 and not 2007, will add to a shortage of stock later I think.

http://www.aastocks.com/eng/News/newstext.asp?source=AFX&item=AFX200562990088

2005-7-29 09:18:00 a.m. HKT, AFX
Hong Kong-listed Chaoda Modern says associate to list on London's AIM on Aug 3

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - Chaoda Modern Agriculture (Holdings) said associate company Asian Citrus Holdings will be listed on London's AIM on Wednesday (Aug 3).
It said its shareholding in Asian Citrus will be diluted to 40.31 pct from 49 pct as the associate will be placing 9.1 mln new shares and 1.7 mln existing shares ahead of its listing.
It noted that it is not selling any its shares until after the release of Asian Citrus' financial results in October next year.

(1 usd = 7.8 hkd)
leonora.walet@xfn.com

i read something recently about a shortage of oranges somewhere...but i think that it was maybe only to do with the US areas that were hit by the hurricanes

US area's yes, but an reduction in US exports will make domestic prices rise in countries that take a lot of US farm produce as imports, like China. Could be very beneficial to ACHL ?

Chaoda use huge markets at their investment vehicle...40.3%
Googled Market Ahead, but had no luck, suspect that is the directors holding company!

Have a few K holding, but I would not bet the farm on it......

barwoni its worth a few k punt, lock it away and wait for the harvest at Oct results next year, it might be a very good harvest and it might not, but worth the minimal risk. If there are more Supermarket deal announcements that will be much better. As they are based in Guangxi look for any deals with neighbouring Yunnan, Sichuan or Guangdong (Guangdong or Sichuan would be massive deals if they could pull something off there or of course Walmart China).

The relaxing thing here will also be it will be driven by hedge funds and Institutions and if they want to get in it will suddenly shoot up as they move in. Sit back and relax on a 12 month wait here.

AGM is next week, is anyone going ?


Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held at 9.00am on 14 November
2005 at 9/F, 100 Wood Street, London EC2V 7AN, United Kingdom.

Interesting there was an MM buy of 25K in the trades today.

http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/003/X6732E/x6732e02.htm

Oranges

World consumption of oranges grew at a compound rate of 3.5 percent over the period ranging from 1986-88 to 1996-98. While consumption of fresh oranges grew at an annual rate of 2.9 percent, this was superceded by growth in processed orange consumption, which grew 4.2 percent per annum. Increased consumption of processed oranges in Europe was one of the primary forces supporting expanded world consumption. Even though per capita consumption of fresh oranges in the EU declined from 13 to 9.7 kg, per capita processed orange consumption nearly doubled to 30 kg (fresh fruit equivalent). Per capita consumption of processed oranges also grew in Canada and the United States, offsetting decreases in fresh orange consumption.

Processed orange consumption, however, is still concentrated in the developed countries of North America and Europe. These two regions collectively account for over 88 percent of world consumption. In other regions, however, particularly Latin America, markets for processed orange products appear to be evolving. Processed orange consumption in Mexico more than doubled and Brazilian consumption increased by 50 percent over the period from 1986-88 to 1996-98.

While fresh orange consumption declined in many of the developed countries, it expanded in many developing countries, especially in the emerging economies of Mexico, India, Argentina and Brazil. Strong consumption growth was also observed in China. Fresh orange consumption is declining in the developed countries for two reasons. First, it is being replaced by orange juice consumption. The evolution of not-from-concentrate (NFC) orange juice in both North America and Europe has been supported by the perception that NFC closely duplicates fresh-squeezed in flavor but offers greater convenience. Second, with advancements in transportation and storage, fresh citrus is now confronted with more competition from other fruits such as bananas, grapes and strawberries.

The projections for 2010 for orange production and consumption are predicated on two assumptions. First, the rapid expansion of world orange production will slow. Brazil is currently facing two major disease problems: citrus canker and citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC). Growers are also receiving lower prices for oranges used for processing, which has slowed the rate of new plantings. Florida is also facing disease challenges from the citrus tristeza virus and citrus canker. Lower grower prices in Florida have also slowed new plantings. These lower prices will also affect other Western Hemisphere orange producing countries such as Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Argentina and Cuba. These countries allocate a sizeable proportion of their orange production to processed utilization which is dominated by Sao Paulo and Florida.

The second assumption is that fresh orange consumption in the developed countries will continue to decline on a per capita basis. Processed orange consumption will continue to expand in the emerging economies of Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe, although its main markets will still be found in North America and Europe.

Projected orange production in 2010 is 64 million MT, approximately 10 percent greater than that realized over the 1996-98 period. The projected annualized rate of growth of 0.76 percent is substantially lower than 3.9 percent which occurred from 1986-88 to 1996-98. The projected 64 million MT of production is expected to be utilized as 35.7 million MT fresh and 28.3 million MT processed. The share of production claimed by processed utilization is projected to increase marginally.

Orange production in developed countries is projected to grow at an annualized rate of 0.6 percent with most of that growth coming from the United States. Production in Europe is projected to show little change, with a small increase in Spain offset by declines in Italy and Greece. Production in South Africa is expected to continue to grow as it continues to exploit its advantage as an off-season supplier to the northern hemisphere. On the other hand, production in Israel will continue to be affected by population growth, urbanization and access to adequate water supply. Japan's orange industry is also projected to continue its secular decline as imports become more available.

Production in developing countries is projected to increase at an annualized rate of 0.8 percent. Production in both Mexico and Brazil are expected to contract modestly. Over the next 10 years, it is likely that Brazil will experience a sizeable contraction of production as the combined effects of disease and low grower prices are felt. By 2010, however, the Brazilian industry should be in full recovery and be able to maintain its dominance of the world processed orange market. Mexico is highly vulnerable to the citrus tristeza virus which has been found in the Yucatan peninsula. Mexican producers have also thus far been unable to take advantage of preferential access to the United States market offered under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Smaller Western Hemisphere orange exporting countries such as Argentina, Cuba, Belize and Costa Rica should find market opportunities as the larger orange producing regions undergo adjustment. Cuba is noteworthy in that it has expanded its orange processing capacity and been able to stabilize and begin to increase its orange output despite the trade embargo imposed by the United States. The processing sector of Belize and Costa Rica has also undergone consolidation, which should lower costs. These two countries, however, are the only two significant processed orange exporters with duty free access to both the United States and the EU. Therefore, they are both vulnerable to further trade liberalization in the processed orange market.

Orange producing countries in Asia are expected to continue to expand production, but nearly all of this production will be consumed in domestic markets. China is projected to overtake Mexico as the third largest orange producing country, and India will challenge Spain as the fifth largest producer. Huge domestic markets in both of these countries, however, mean that virtually all production will be consumed internally. Trade liberalization in these countries could open these markets to off-season imports. Other large Asian orange producing countries such as Iran and Pakistan will also continue to send most of their production to domestic markets. The exception to this observation is Turkey which can, because of its location and its membership in a Customs Union with the EU, compete in the European market. The Mediterranean countries of Morocco and Egypt are also expected to benefit from their proximity to Europe, although they compete directly with Spain, which benefits from being within the EU and TRQs of the EU.

The relatively small projected increase in production will support small increases in consumption of fresh and processed oranges. Per capita citrus consumption in both North America and Europe is expected to change little from current levels. Relatively flat per capita consumption growth in these regions is a direct result of slower domestic production growth and the projected small increase for the main supplier of processed orange products: Brazil. Most increases in consumption will be found in developing citrus-producing countries such as India, Pakistan, China, Mexico, and Brazil.

Brazil and Mexico are notable in that all Latin American countries have historically consumed oranges through the purchase of fresh oranges and then the production of fresh squeezed orange juice at home. In recent years, however, consumers in Brazil and Mexico have begun to buy ready to drink orange juice. This trend is expected to continue as rising incomes in these countries will provide support for switching from home production to direct purchase of orange juice. Rising incomes in Chile and Argentina may also support increased consumption of processed orange products.

The recent trade agreement between China and the United States has opened the Chinese market to imports of fresh and processed citrus. While a sizeable middle class has evolved in China, that country is still faced with infrastructure issues that work against large-scale importation of fresh and processed orange products. It is likely, however, that consumers in the large coastal cities of China will have increased access to imported citrus products. The large population living in these areas and their growing purchasing power should provide a significant outlet for citrus exports.

Expanded consumption of fresh and processed orange products in other East Asian economies is hampered by declining domestic production and trade barriers which increase the cost of these products to consumers. The Japanese processed orange market has failed to live up to expectations generated by the signing of the U.S.-Japan Beef and Citrus agreement in 1986. The long distances that oranges and other citrus products must travel from the major producing countries in the Western Hemisphere also hamper citrus consumption in East Asia. These observations notwithstanding, per capita orange consumption in nearly all of the countries of the Far East is projected to show small to moderate increases. Nearly all of this consumption growth will come from increased domestic production.

http://www.fas.usda.gov/htp/Hort_Circular/2005/04-05/04-04-05%20Orange%20Juice%20Feature.pdf

April 2005 World Horticultural Trade & U.S. Export Opportunities

China

Chinas consumption of orange juice continues to grow. In 2004/05, it is forecast that consumption will grow about 12 percent from the previous year. According to reports, demand for orange juice will continue increasing dramatically. Juicing companies increasingly advertise the nutritional benefits of orange juice through all media. Young consumers are driving consumption at a fantastic speed with demands for drinks with different juice contents. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) reports per capita consumption of orange juice in China was 0.1 liter in 2001 and it is expected to reach 0.5 liter in 2005 and 2 liters in 2010. This translates into 650,000 tons in 2005 and 2.6 million tons of orange juice consumption in 2010. Forecasts may be overly optimistic, but the growth rate remains amazing. The local juicing industry will not be able to produce such quantities of orange juice in the absence of sufficient raw materials. A few companies have invested in juicing facilities and commercial groves, but it will take years before a sizable orange juice volume is produced. Imports, mostly from Brazil, will satisfy the thirst for orange juice in the short to medium term.

The buying should be from them doing the rounds in the city at the moment, I hear they are putting over a very good impression with presentations.

April 2005 report on Situation and Outlook for Citrus

LINK HERE

China

Chinas production of citrus during 2004/05 is forecast at 12.9 million tons, up nearly 3 percent from 2003/04. Orange production occupies an increasing share of total citrus production in China, but the supply of high quality fruit will not be sufficient to meet growing demand anytime soon. Fruit quality is improving steadily, yet post-harvest handling such as grading, washing, waxing, and packing remains behind the times. There are no nationally recognized brand names, and there is very little domestic marketing. Domestic citrus is mostly early-to middle-arrival varieties harvested September through December. As cold storage facilities remain insufficient, domestic fresh citrus is rarely found on the market from April to August. Although domestic juice consumption is increasing dramatically, Chinese juicing companies source only a tiny share of domestic fruit. Large supplies of juicing oranges are simply unavailable, and the short supply season makes operation costs even higher.

Asian Citrus Holdings Ltd
14 November 2005
Asian Citrus Holdings Limited
('Asian Citrus' or 'the Company')
Result of AGM

At the first Annual General Meeting of the Company, held at 09h00 today, Monday
14 November 2005, at 100 Wood Street, London, EC2V 7AN, all resolutions
proposed, as set out in the Notice of Meeting, were duly passed.

Tony Tong, Chairman and CEO, said at today's AGM:

'This is the first AGM following our listing on 3 August 2005 and the company
has developed according to the strategy outlined at listing. The Company's
plantations are developing on schedule and we have also concluded a supplier
contract with a local Chinese supermarket chain, as announced on 26 October
2005.

We continue to evaluate further supplier contracts with several large-scale
supermarket chains and announcements will be made as appropriate.

With both the organic growth from the plantations and continued success in our
marketing efforts, we believe that the Company has a bright future.'


About Asian Citrus Holdings Limited

Asian Citrus Holdings Limited is the largest orange plantation owner and
operator in China and has two plantations in the Hepu county of the Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Xinfeng county of the Jiangxi province of
China. Its primary goal is to sell quality oranges at an affordable price and in so doing, strengthen its position as a leading, mechanised and industrialised orange grower and distributor in China.

For Further Information Contact:

Terry Garrett/ John Moriarty/Helen Thomas
Weber Shandwick Square Mile 0207 067 0700
14 November 2005

A 100K buy and then a 200K protected buy at the end, so more positioning by insti's.

I would imagine an amount left over from the IPO, and EVO are simply moving it up as it becomes less and less. Given the harvest time of Nov/Dec you would expect insti's to take their positions before year end, I think.

Just got this through today on email;

Buy Asian Citrus at 117.5p
Says Rob Cullum of Trendwatch.co.uk

HANDS UP all those of you who recall the saga of Polly Peck? You need to be a certain age.

Briefly, in 1980, a Cypriot businessman called Asil Nadir took control of a small UK textile company called Polly Peck and expanded it into a massive conglomerate involving textiles, electronic and electrical household goods, hotels and holiday resorts and citrus fruit growing and juice bottling. Its crowning glory was the 1989 acquisition of Del Monte, one of the world's biggest suppliers of fruit and vegetables.

The value of investments can go down as well as up. Investing in equities can lose you part or all of your capital. Smaller company shares can be relatively illiquid and thus hard to trade. And that makes such investments more of a high risk than larger company shares.

In less than 10 years, the capitalisation of Polly Peck went from 0.3 million pounds to 731 million pounds. Then, in 1990, the whole company collapsed like a house of cards with 1 billion pounds of debt. Nadir was charged with fraud. He fled back to Cyprus in 1993, never to return.

These musings were prompted by nothing more significant than the fact that company we're about to recommend is also a grower of citrus fruit. There the parallels with Polly Peck end. we hope. But then again Asian Citrus Holdings is a Chinese company. In China, anything is possible. Hopefully Tony Tong will be like Asil Nadir, minus the rotten bits.

Tony Tong, the founder of Asian Citrus, is a Hong Kong entrepreneur with over 20 years experience of doing business with mainland China; so if anyone can make a success of this business, he should be that man.

The company floated on AIM as recently as August, raising 12 million pounds. A quoted Hong Kong company called Chaoda Modern Agriculture has a 40% stake and has pledged not to sell until October 2007.

China is the home of the orange - most of the varieties grown around the world originated in China - and Asian Citrus is already China's biggest orange producer, with just over 1 million trees producing just under 100,000 tonnes of fruit. It has two plantations covering roughly 6,800 hectares, an area the size of Guernsey. Its first plantation is situated in the Hepu region of the Guangxi Zhuang region of China, and is already in production. The yield will rise steadily as the trees mature. Oranges take 3 year to come into fruit and 8 years to mature and reach their maximum yield. The productive life of an orange tree is about 20 years.

A second plantation is under development in the Xinfeng region of Jiangxi province. Planting should be completed by next year. It will start fruiting in the winter of 2007. The crop is sold to corporate customers and wholesalers within China. Tong's aim is to set up an orange sales network under a national brand name - a sort of Del Monte of the Chinese citrus business.

Asian Citrus is in the great position of operating in a market where demand already outstrips supply. Tong believes it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, as the standard of living in China continues to improve. It has no intention of getting involved in exports.

The company is already highly profitable, highly cash generative (last year it generated 14.3 million pounds cash) and enjoys high operating margins. And it intends to pay out about 10% of the profits in dividends. In the year to June, its turnover and profits were:

2003: Turnover: 12.2 m; profit: 8.6 m.
2004: Turnover: 18.2 m; profit: 10.9 m.
2005: Turnover: 22.6 m; profit: 18.9 m

Evolution predicts a profit fall to 14.6 million pounds in 2006, as that will be a consolidation year, followed by bumper years thereafter as new trees start producing. So already the company is building a first-class track record. The 2005 figures beat the projections in July's AIM prospectus.

What could go wrong? Plenty. For a start, China is the Wild East. Private companies are not a natural state of affairs in China. Then there are the usual hazards of plantation companies: the weather, disease...

Against that, this is one investment that should benefit from the projected rise in the value of the renminbi - as the Chinese currency rises, so profits expressed in sterling terms will rise. And the shares are incredibly cheap on a forward p/e of about 4. We also find it reassuring that Mr Tong cares enough about the importance of accountability, transparency, corporate governance, investor relations and shareholder value to have a separate section for each in the results announcement. That doesn't sound like Asil Nadir.

As someone rather hilariously put it, if you lose your shirt on this share, you can put it down to a slip of the Tong!n BUY.

Key Data

EPIC: ACHL
NMS: 5,000
Spread: 115p - 120p
Market Cap: 12.7 million pounds

=TrendWatch is unique. It is the only publication that gives you complete listings of shares in uptrend and downtrend - vital information for investors and traders alike. Based on this, we make three fully researched share recommendations per fortnight. For a 3-issue free trial, contact us at http://www.trendwatch.co.uk/.

Some good buying volume today. A future income stock going very cheap at the moment !

Two recent articles to read on the yuan.


http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1105/277510.html

Chinese Yuan Surges Against the Dollar
Monday November 14, 2005 6:03am



http://www.tuftsdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/11/14/43781d8bf0f8c

Published November 14, 2005
A stronger yuan makes for a stronger China

A blue day yesterday and a few more buys today. At least the move up shows that strength is there and as more and more buys come in, we should see a few more blue days.

Thanks for all the excellent posts PapalPower

Welcome, moving up again today.

2 MM buys this morning at full offer of 122p, then an X trade of 35K at 122p.

Looking very strong at the moment.

Interesting trades, a 35K late reported buy at 123p is shown as a sell, so no sells today in fact so far. The 35K X covers the 35K late reported buy.

A couple more ticks up, nice and slow but consistent is good.

very good. Should keep moving up. Wish EVG would do the same. Another undervalued stock IMO

A good day for ACHL, lets hope for more of the same.

I like the line in the header on the AFN thread;

"The Future is Bright, The Future is Orange(s)" !! ;)

I once held shares in Orange. Guess there's a theme here! ACHl should be a nice long term hold.

Guess people are onto the stock. Will buy some more if it drops back!!

I should post on this BB more often. I see EVG has begun to move- still undervalued though.

This is motoring now

Baza

Its on a current year PER of 5, so there is plenty in the tank to keep on motoring, for many months to come.

A good sign would be 150p before the next halt and consolidation, before the next move up. Over the next 12 months, this has a long long way to go up I think.

Added some colour to the header ;)

Great posts Papal.

The thing is that large trades are pushing this up, this means its not small PI's doing the buying thats making it move, its large PI's or fund managers doing it, and smaller PI's are just helping it along, all good for support levels when consolidation happens.

PapalPower

Are you the one who's done well on Champion Investor?

If so well done mate!!

hutchins, yes that is me, thanks.

I wanted to but ACHL for Camp Invest too, but the NMS is too small to let me buy it.

I see Achl has started positive today..

And the sellers have stepped in!!

But the price is still up on the day, and up all week. There will always be some sellers, but I am waiting for 300% up on this, not 10% or 20%. Its a longer term hold and top up all the way.

I'll be doing the same. Definitely one for the long term.

It is Hutchins, the best gains should be in 24 months, but still decent gains in 12 months. This year is a consolidation year, so EPS down to around 24p (should be higher with RMB getting stronger) but next financial year should be an over 40p EPS year.

Some good news just out for many stocks dealing in China, but in particular for FTO and ACHL which I am following closely now;


China's yuan at post-revaluation high of 8.0798/dollar

BEIJING (AFX) - China's yuan was at a post-revaluation high of 8.0798 to the
dollar on the interbank market in the morning session, traders said.
'The yuan is now quoted at 8.0798/99,' said a Beijing-based foreign exchange
trader, after the currency moved past the 8.08 level.
After months of intense US pressure, China on July 21 freed the yuan from an
11-year-old peg to the dollar in favor of a trade-weighted basket of currencies, and allowed the local unit to appreciate 2.1 pct against the US currency.
The yuan closed at 8.0825 yesterday, appreciating 0.34 pct since the
revaluation.
In the past month, the yuan has traded between 8.0805 and 8.0877.
Last Thursday, the foreign exchange regulator announced it was introducing a
market maker system - a move seen as a precursor to liberalizing the currency.
The US Treasury released a report overnight which said it did not view China as a currency manipulator because of 'initial steps' in moving towards a floating currency.
allen.feng@xinhuafinance.com

Thanks for the post. I held FTO last year but it didn't perform for me and now out of the stock. I keep an eye on it though and also RCG. I'm looking to buy more Achl when I can free up some money.

Keep posting.

A post copied over from AFN;


justjim37 - 11 Dec'05 - 11:07 - 242 of 242

ACHL is the headline tip on the front page of The Small Company Share Watch magazine this month and is also one of their 2006 naps. (2005 naps performed well with an average peak-to-high gain of 91%)
Some highlights from the article include:
"it is easy to see why the share price could be dramatically higher a year from now......"
"The Tong family hold 42% Chaoda has 40.3% leaving ony 17.7% in the hands of the public....."
"supply of oranges has been unable to meet demand"
"plantations developed to US standards..."
"in 2002 production was 42000 tonnes and sales were 9.4m, last year was 97000 tonnes with sales of 22.6m. Evolution are forecasting sales of 27m and a pretax profit of 14.6m for the current year...."
"operating margin has improved from 49% to a mouthwatering 53% in 2005....due to very low staff costs"
"it will shortly begin direct sales to supermarkets... the first such contract has been signed...and the move is likely to generate an additional gross margin of circa 15%"
"The Tong family tell their story well and there seems a great opportunity. On a prospective PE of 5.3 its hard to disagree. Evolution has a target of 174p. Buy"

Could be a very blue day today !

Good to see your into this one Papal. You seem to like the Emerging Market commodity plays like me. Congrats on your achievement with the Champion investor competition.

Glad to see this is doing well. I'm still topping up.

tallsiii I like all of them that have potential to grow :). I see ACHL and EKA as ones that will have a good 2006.

Champ invest I am struggling this month, I have 2 large longs, the biggest being LEAD based on a trading update due this week, so if LEAD moves I might be able to get back to number 1 in the monthly spot as well as overall, if LEAD does not move its going to be a bad month, but I think it will move, maybe starting tomorrow.

Moving up again today and so far 2 MM buys.

PpP: You'll be interested to learn that Nicolas Smith, a director of ACHL, has just been appointed a non-exec director of PMK, a recovery stock I'm holding.
sd.

squidd, very interesting. Have not looked at PMK recently, will have another look.

And now, Nicholas has bought 100k shares in PMK today at the going rate 25p.

Good news there squidd.

Did he buy some more in ACHL ? There was a 500K X trade today, normally is director/institution buying when the cross trades go through.

I thought these might finish year end weaker, but looks like they will be strong, 25K MM buy this morning and a move up on the mid price buy.

Even stronger today !!

Finished today with a very decent rise, and there is still plenty of upwards movement to come from this one in 2006 (maybe even more this year)

Started today well as well, moved up strongly, 180p target ?

Gone well, to break 160p should be soon.

After having a strong run in the Christmas week I am hoping for a same again performance this week as hopefully its a sign of PI's getting in before the big boys do their January shopping. If this goes to form then ACHL should have a very strong January 2006.

Current year pr PER is around times 6.5 and next year pr PER is around times 4 so there is plenty of upside to come here.

And moving up well again today, bid has now passed 160p, could we be over 200p some time in January ? I think its very possible.

Good to see we start the year on a blue note :)

And another blue day ahead :)

They must be getting short of stock now, paying nearly 159 for a sell there.

Has anyone got the on line buy/sell limits ?

There have been a lot of buys on this stock over the last few weeks, but the price has been relatively sedate. Am guessing that there is a bit of stock overhang out there.

tallsiii no overhang I think, when the bid got to 160p last time, a few sellers appeared (taking profits for year end), that is now taken up and its ready to move up again, expecting 170p bid some time soon on its way up and over 250p this year.

Yuan rises to record dollar level (4th Jan 06)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4579502.stm


Good for ACHL and FTO amongst many others :)

does anyone no why the price drop in the last few days

I would say just profit taking, consolidation was due, it will go one until new buyers, or old ones returning come back in, and then it will move up to the next level. The question is what level will the buying start ? I do not know.

PP do you still anticipate a 250p price target

Yes, but again that target is a 12 to 24 month target, and its not going to be plain sailing all the way, it will go up, and it will come down, but the story remains solid, so yes I would have a 250p target for about 18 months time I think.

profit taking is inevitable. However, I'm still here and holding and waiting for the next move up

If we get much more profit taking, i'll be buying some more.

Buyers seem to be returning today to ACHL

Yes tempted to top up.

Made a strong move yesterday, another new high.

And another new high :)

Yes-Great

With this and EME and LEAD and VOG you must be coining it in PP!

tallsiii, things are going very well, with a number of my holdings. Well they did say that for me, this year of the Dog would be very profitable :)))

Got into ELP this morning, high risk/high reward oiler, not for widows or orphans, but presently around 2 weeks from news on their big "company maker" drill Jaguar. Not for everyone as its certainly high risk ! Hoping my doggy influence will make the difference for me ;)

Asian Citrus Holdings Ltd
27 February 2006



27 February 2006

Asian Citrus Holdings Limited
('Asian Citrus' or 'the Group')


Additional order from regional supermarket chain

Asian Citrus, the largest orange plantation owner and operator in China,
announces that it has been awarded an additional supply contract from Guangxi
Yonghao Supermarket Company Limited ('Yonghao'), a local supermarket chain with
more than 20 outlets in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China.

The additional contract, entered into at the request of Yonghao, is to supply
Yonghao with an additional 2,000 tonnes of oranges from the coming Summer Orange
crop in 2006. The estimated value of this new contract is approximately RMB11.3
million (approximately 800,000).

This follows the award of an initial contract with Yonghao, announced on 26
October 2005, which had a value of approximately RMB25 million (approximately
1.75m), for the supply of 5,000 tonnes of oranges up to June 2006.

In addition, the Group has commenced the supply of oranges to certain
supermarket chains in Hong Kong through a joint venture company, which was set
up in August 2005 with a local Hong Kong business that has been involved in the
fruit trading business for over 20 years.

Tony Tong, Chairman and CEO, commented, 'The success of our first move into the
supermarket sector was always going to be vital for the Group's future
development in the wholesale arena and I am delighted that we are clearly
demonstrating that success with this additional order.

'Our oranges are proving to be a real favourite amongst local people. The
quality of our oranges has clearly been well appreciated by the public and we
have developed a good relationship with Yonghao. The additional order from
Yonghao is a proof of our oranges' success in the retail market and we are
confident of concluding further supermarket contracts in the future.'

About Asian Citrus Holdings Limited

Asian Citrus Holdings Limited is the largest orange plantation owner and
operator in China and has two plantations in the Hepu county of the Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Xinfeng county of the Jiangxi province of China.
Its primary goal is to sell quality oranges at an affordable price and in so
doing, strengthen its position as a leading, mechanised and industrialised
orange grower and distributor in China.

For Further Information Contact:

Terry Garrett/ John Moriarty/Helen Thomas
Weber Shandwick Square Mile 0207 067 0700




This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

New web site for ACHL now :

http://www.asian-citrus.com/gyen/index.php

Keeps on rising, new target said to be around the 250p level :)

Having a good afternoon move :

Asian Citrus Holdings Ltd
17 March 2006



17 March 2006


Asian Citrus Holdings Limited
('Asian Citrus' or 'the Company')

Director's Share Purchase


Asian Citrus Holdings Limited ('the Company') has been notified that Nicholas
Smith, a non-executive director of the Company, has, on 16 March 2006, purchased
15,000 shares of the Company at an average price of 178p. His total holding is
now 40,000 shares representing 0.06% of the Company's issued share capital.

The Company's issued share capital is 62,201,949 ordinary shares.

For Further Information Contact:

Terry Garrett/ John Moriarty/Helen Thomas
Weber Shandwick Square Mile 0207 067 0700



This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

And another good move

It is moving well :)

Having a good day on ACHL :)

Probably not what shareholders wanted to hear......cannot say as a non holder I am too impressed with it. Trouble with these Chinese companies, all looks good and then they start with the "ulterior motive" things..... IMO. This looks like a project to line pockets, not to "greatly enhance" the future of ACHL........ All IMO.......


Asian Citrus Holdings Ltd
01 September 2006
For immediate release 1 September 2006


Asian Citrus Holdings Limited
('Asian Citrus' or 'the Company')


Development Project

Asian Citrus, the largest orange plantation owner and operator in China,
announces plans and a management contract with Nan Chen Ji Real Estate
Development Limited ('Nan Chen') for the development of two lots of land
totalling 0.2 sq.km in the Xinfeng County Zhongduan Industrial Park.

The land was acquired in April 2003 (0.11 sq.km) and March 2004 (0.09 sq.km) for an aggregate consideration of RMB 57 million. As described in the Company's
Admission Document of 28 July 2005, the Company intends to establish an orange
processing centre including warehouses, refrigerated storage and a centre for
cleaning, grading, packaging and waxing oranges ('Orange Processing Centre').
Land Use Rights Certificates are held over the entire area. It is expected that
the Orange Processing Centre will be operational by December 2007.

Under the agreement with Nan Chen, a real estate development company registered
in Xinfeng County of Jiangxi Province, a subsidiary of the Company has appointed Nan Chen to be responsible for the design and development of the site including the Orange Processing Centre. In addition, the project has been expanded to include the development of an agricultural trade and wholesale market focused on fruits of approximately 150,000 sq. metres together with a car park, a block of serviced apartments and other services. Around 650 units are expected to be sold to local producers who will use the market frontage to sell their produce. Nan Chen will also be responsible for the sale of these units.

The Directors expect the Company to derive many long term benefits from this
project as it seeks to become the major supplier of high grade oranges in China.
It will have first-hand knowledge of some of the best orange growers in the
region which should lead to excellent sourcing opportunities as demand grows. It will also give the Company access to new customers throughout China who are
expected to use this new market facility.

The project will be undertaken in three stages. The first phase, which the
Company has committed to fund under the contract, is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2007 for an investment of RMB 52 million (of which
approximately RMB 28 million had been paid by 30 June 2006). The pre-sale of the units in the first phase, numbering about 250, will commence in October 2006 and the sale of these units is expected to mitigate the capital commitment of the Company over time. It is intended that the Company's investment will be funded by its existing financial resources and by new bank facilities to be put in place.

For undertaking the development and providing the necessary services to enable
the project to proceed, Nan Chen will receive a share of the development profit.

Further information will be provided as the development proceeds.

Tony Tong, Chairman and CEO, commented: 'The expansion of the project to include an agricultural trade and wholesale market in Xinfeng will help the Group to gather more up-to-date information about sources of high quality oranges which should lead to excellent sourcing opportunities as demand grows. In addition, this market will be one of the largest agricultural trade and wholesale market in the southern part of China which represents a landmark to the Group's latest development. We expect that this project will bring to the Group long term benefits as we proceed to become a major supplier of high quality oranges in China'

About Asian Citrus Holdings Limited

Asian Citrus Holdings Limited is the largest orange plantation owner and
operator in China and has two plantations in the Hepu county of the Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Xinfeng county of the Jiangxi province of
China. Its primary goal is to sell quality oranges at an affordable price and,
in so doing, strengthen its position as a leading, mechanised and industrialised orange grower and distributor in China.

For Further Information Contact:
Terry Garrett/ John Moriarty/Helen Thomas
Weber Shandwick Square Mile 0207 067 0700
Michael Wentworth-Stanley/James Mitford
JPMorgan Cazenove Limited 0207 588 2828

Define "looks like a project to line pockets"?? I'm not with you. The deal seems to have its own logic, given ACHL's position in that market.

Been on a flyer recently, nearing 300p levels........

Doesnt it just fuck you off when you think about investing in a company, like i did with asian citrus, but then leave it for a while, only for the S.P. to rise by over 50%!!!!

I know that feeling..........and its normally when you purchased a different one instead and thats gone down 10%.........

say GTL

Asian Citrus is the one of few strong Chinese companies. Looks like it may defy gravity.

Bit of a move down today, but thats the cost of expansion, short term pain for more longer term gain.

I have started a thread on WCC today, very similar position to where I purchased my first ACHL at 120p.......and I reckon WCC should easily double, just like ACHL did.

New highs reached late in 2007. Share price is still excellent value. Going forward, this has the hallmark of a first class investment.

What a disappointment...


Asian Citrus sees FY pretax profit below previous year - AFX

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Asian Citrus Holdings Ltd warned that its 2008 full-year pretax profits is likely to be below the level achieved for the year ended June 2007.

However, the company said the impact of this will be mitigated at the earnings level by government changes to tax law as Asian Citrus will be exempt from enterprise income tax from Jan 1.

The company said it has accelerated the replanting programme at the established Hepu Plantation, which will bring long term benefits. But, in the short term the replanting will produce lower yields and thus reduce output in the current year, it added.

The largest orange plantation owner in China also said the exceptional cold weather in China during January and February 2008 has hit its current sales by slightly impacting the quality of its harvest and causing short-term oversupply.

tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com

Looks like the citrus fruit is rotting now.

A slow but steady climb back from the lows.