\nAmerican Vanguard\u00ae<\/sup> Corporation (NYSE:AVD), a diversified specialty and agricultural products company that develops, manufactures, and markets solutions for crop protection and nutrition, turf and ornamental management and commercial pest control, today reported preliminary, financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024. The results reported herein are preliminary. Final results will appear in the company\u2019s 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.\n<\/p>\n
Fourth Quarter 2024 Preliminary Financial and Operational Highlights \u2013 versus Fourth Quarter 2023:<\/b><\/p>\n Fiscal 2024 Full Year Preliminary Financial Highlights \u2013 versus Fiscal 2023 Full Year:<\/b><\/p>\n \n\u201cWhile we are pleased to have achieved our 2024 EBITDA target, in my opinion this result is just the starting point for what is possible at this company,\u201d said Chief Executive Officer Douglas \u201cDak\u201d Kaye III. \u201cWith an adjusted EBITDA margin of 7.5%, we would view this level of profitability as being about half of what our full cycle earnings power can be. On a percentage basis, we believe that we can achieve double digit EBITDA growth over each of the next 3 \u2013 4 years.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nMr. Kaye continued, \u201cWe took a number of decisions in the fourth quarter which resulted in asset impairment charges, these measures are designed to focus our resources on the products and services that our customers most value and need, and positions American Vanguard for long-term, profitable growth. As a result of these decisive actions, I am confident that 2025 will be better than 2024, but the improvement will be gradual, and the interest rate environment coupled with the uncertainty of potential tariffs will lead to farmers remaining cautious. Taking into consideration these factors, for 2025, we have an adjusted EBITDA target range of $45 – $52 million and expect sales to fall in the range of $565 – $585 million. We expect capex of approximately $10 million for 2025, so free cash flow should show a meaningful improvement, which we will allocate towards the Debt reduction. As we continue to transform and update this business, we believe that future margins will improve, and further margin enhancement in 2026 and beyond is likely.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nDavid T. Johnson, Vice President, CFO and Treasurer, stated \u201cAs we continue to complete work associated with the year-end audit, we are pleased to provide preliminary, unaudited financial information, including adjusted EBITDA within the target range of $40 – $50 million that we communicated to investors in the middle of the year. Furthermore, we more than achieved the goal to reduce inventory ending at approximately $178 million (including some impairment charges) which was down approximately $42 million in comparison to the closing position for 2023. We ended the year with total debt of $156 million, down from $179 million last quarter and $211 million at mid-year 2024. Finally, we continued to right-size the business in the 4th<\/sup> quarter and have taken a total of approximately $118 million in non-recurring cash and non-cash charges in 2024 as we continue to strengthen our balance sheet and position American Vanguard for a return to growth in 2025 and put the company on a path towards higher EBITDA margins.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n
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