QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., January 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYUT), ("Synutra" or the "Company"), which owns subsidiaries in China that produce, market and sell nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today issued a statement in response to local Chinese media reports of a pair of 4-month old twins in Jiangxi province who became ill with severe intestinal symptoms. One passed away from dehydration on January 7, 2012. The other has recovered following hospitalization. Both children were reported to have been consuming Synutra powdered milk formula products for weeks before the sudden onset of their illnesses.
Mr. Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, stated, "Our hearts go out to the family suffering from this tragic event. At the same time, we firmly believe this is an isolated incident unrelated to Synutra's products. All of our products, including the lot under question, are thoroughly tested and analyzed before shipment. These products are formulated and produced under stringent safety standards to safely meet the nutritional needs of infants. We have chosen to not recall any of our products because we are confident that they are safe. We are also not aware of any decisions to remove our products from store shelves, except in the store from which the ill infants' formula originated.
"The Company and our distributors are actively cooperating with various local and provincial authorities to investigate the source of the reported illness," continued Mr. Zhang. "The Jiangxi Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision is in the process of testing product samples collected from the affected family. We recognize the pain of the grieving family. However, we hope to reassure consumers that we are fully confident that our products are safe. We believe in the quality of our products and stand by our quality assurances," Mr. Zhang concluded.
The Company expects to provide updates to this situation as new material developments become available. Please contact the Company at IR@Synutra.com with any further inquiries.
About Synutra International, Inc.
Synutra International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYUT) is a leading infant formula company in China. It principally produces, markets and sells its products through its operating subsidiaries under the "Shengyuan" or "Synutra" name, together with other complementary brands. It focuses on selling premium infant formula products, which are supplemented by more affordable infant formulas targeting the mass market as well as other nutritional products and ingredients. It sells its products through an extensive nationwide sales and distribution network covering all provinces and provincial-level municipalities in mainland China As of September 30, 2011, this network comprised over 670 independent distributors and over 900 independent sub-distributors who sell Synutra products in over 72,000 retail outlets.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about Synutra International, Inc. and its industry. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is/are likely to," "may," "plan," "should," "will," "aim," "potential," "continue," or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements included in this press release relate to, among others, Synutra's goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the expected growth of the nutritional products and infant formula markets in China; market acceptance of Synutra's products; the safety and quality of Synutra's products; Synutra's expectations regarding demand for its products; Synutra's ability to stay abreast of market trends and technological advances; competition in the infant formula industry in China; PRC governmental policies and regulations relating to the nutritional products and infant formula industries, and general economic and business conditions in China. These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although Synutra believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these expectations may turn out to be incorrect. Synutra's actual results could be materially different from the expectations. Important risks and factors that could cause actual results to be materially different from expectations are generally set forth in Synutra's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release. Synutra International, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
