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American Vanguard Corporation
Annual Report 2011

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FY2011 Annual Report · American Vanguard Corporation
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A M E R I CA N     VA N G UA R D     C O R P O R AT I O N

THE FACES OF AMVAC

2011 ANNUAl REPORT

Message from the Chairman 

Dear Shareholders,

For American Vanguard, 2011 was a year of exceptional 
growth, record financial performance and continuing 
organizational development. As we asserted last year, 
AMVAC was prepared to take advantage of current 

opportunities and was well-positioned to pursue a world of future possibilities.

In 2011, the efforts of our domestic and international sales, marketing, business 
development and customer-service personnel contributed to a 34% increase in 
revenues. Our manufacturing, logistics and regulatory teams did an outstanding job 
of getting our products to market proficiently. Our finance, information technology 
and human resource functions handled the substantial administrative workload of 
a growing enterprise. Through the efforts of these many “Faces of AMVAC,” we 
achieved a doubling of net income, a 12% increase in stockholders’ equity and a 
strong balance sheet that contained $35 million in cash at year-end.

During 2011, we successfully integrated into our portfolio the products that we acquired in late 2010. 
We experienced solid market demand for most of our product lines and in most of the crops that we 
serve. We improved the capacity utilization of our manufacturing facilities, prevailed in our efforts to 
return the fungicide PCNB to the U.S. market, and attracted additional highly skilled and experienced 
personnel to join the AMVAC team.

A significant contributor to our recent success and a major lever for expanding our business in 
the future lies in the U.S. corn market. Global demand for corn has been very strong, causing corn 
commodity prices to remain relatively high, which encourages farmers to seek maximum harvest output 
by purchasing the type of yield-enhancing inputs that AMVAC provides. To capitalize on this substantial 
opportunity, we are promoting our message of Yield Enhancement Solutions (YES) involving our Impact® 
herbicide and our extensive offering of proven granular-soil insecticides with related proprietary closed-
delivery equipment systems.

Customer-focused sales service is an essential part of our 
successful growth. From left to right are Glen Anderson, 
Monique Patino, Rebecca Montano, Dorinda Van Beek, 
Veronica Plascencia.

Last summer we were able to arrange a co-marketing agreement with Monsanto 
to encourage growers to use our Impact® post-emergent herbicide to assist 
Monsanto’s Roundup® general-purpose herbicide to cope with the increasing 
challenge of glyphosate resistant weeds. We have seen a renewed demand 
for the use of traditional corn-soil insecticides in conjunction with genetic trait 
seeds for a yield-enhancing combination of technologies that we have promoted 
for several years as “The Best of Both Worlds.” Increasingly, the marketplace is 
embracing the wisdom of this philosophy: using all available tools to combat the 
infestation that reduces yield and inhibits our collective ability to provide the food, 
fiber and biofuels that our expanding global human population requires.

American Vanguard finds itself in a great place—within a great industry. In a world 
that must double farm production in the next two decades, and in an industry 
that must adapt to the ever-changing challenges of Mother Nature, American 
Vanguard has positioned itself to be a major player. We had the foresight to 

assemble and defend a portfolio of traditional chemistries that now appears to be very much in demand. 
We have dedicated ourselves to high-quality, environmentally compliant manufacturing, responsible 
product stewardship and the advocacy of modern Integrated Pest Management. We are continually 
creating a corporate culture that is focused on innovation, entrepreneurial initiative and opportunistic 
growth. We have great confidence in our people and our future prospects. We hope that you share that 
confidence and benefit from our continued success.

Eric G. Wintemute
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer

HISTORICAL FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
(dollars in thousands except earnings and dividend information)

2011 

 2010 

2009 

2008 

2007   

Net sales 

Gross profit 

$ 304,429 

$ 226,859 

$ 205,801 

$ 236,465 

$ 212,479

$ 123,068 

$  86,321 

$  56,898 

$ 100,058 

$  91,547

Net income (loss) 

$  22,068 

$  10,984 

$ (5,789)  

$  20,019 

$  18,728

Earnings (loss) 
per share

Total assets 

Long-term debt 
less current

$ 

0.79 

$ 

0.40 

$  (0.21)  

$ 

0.73 

$ 

0.68

$ 339,141 

$ 280,179 

$ 255,268 

$ 286,937 

$ 248,581

$  51,917 

$  53,710 

$  45,432 

$  75,748 

$  56,155

Stockholders’ equity 

$ 187,072 

$ 166,437 

$ 153,087 

$ 155,943 

$ 139,739

Shares Outstanding 

  27,875 

  27,652 

  27,120 

  27,469 

  27,436

Dividends per share 

$  0.080 

$  0.030 

$  0.060 

$  0.080 

$  0.070

The Faces of AMVAC video 
can be see on the corporate 
Amvac web site. Go to 
www.amvac-chemical.com 
or scan this QR code for 
instant access. 

the faces Of aMVac: creating a new future 
 
OFFICERS
American Vanguard Corporation
Eric G. Wintemute
Chief Executive Officer

David T. Johnson
Vice President
Chief Financial Officer
Treasurer

Timothy J. Donnelly
Chief Administrative Officer
General Counsel
Secretary

DIRECTORS
Eric G. Wintemute
Chairman
Elected in 1994

Carl R. Soderlind
Elected in 2000

Irving J. Thau
Elected in 2003

Lawrence S. Clark
Elected in 2006

John L. Killmer
Elected in 2008

Alfred F. Ingulli
Elected in 2010

Esmail Zirakparvar
Elected in 2010

Deborah Edwards
Elected in 2011

AMVAC Chemical Corporation
Glen D. Johnson
Senior Vice President
Director of Business Development

Jim Lehman
Vice President, Sales

Doug Ashmore
Vice President
Director of Manufacturing

Ian S. Chart
Vice President
Director of Regulatory Affairs

Johann Venter
Vice President
Director of Technology

GemChem, Inc.
Robert F. Gilbane
President

Cross-functional teamwork helps drive 
international growth. From left to right are 
Charles Van der Mersch, Gerardo Suarez, 
Nicolas Vincent, Alfredo Pelaez.

CORPORATE INFORMATION
Executive Offices
American Vanguard Corporation
4695 MacArthur Court
Suite 1200
Newport Beach, California 92660
(949) 260-1200

Investor Relations
William A. Kuser
Director of Investor Relations
and Corporate Communications
(949) 260-1200

Independent Auditors
BDO USA, LLP
Los Angeles, California

Operating Subsidiaries
AMVAC Chemical Corporation
4100 East Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90023
(323) 264-3910

GemChem, Inc.
95 River Road, Suite B
Canton, Connecticut 06019
(860) 693-1331

AMVAC do Brasil Representações Ltda
Brasil

AMVAC de Costa Rica S.A., Costa Rica

Quimica AMVAC de Mexico S.A. de C.V.
Mexico

AMVAC Switzerland GmbH
Switzerland

AMVAC Chemical UK Ltd.
United Kingdom

Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of American 
Vanguard Corporation’s stockholders 
will be held at the Island Hotel located 
at 690 Newport Center Drive, 
Newport Beach, California 92660 
on Thursday, June 7, 2012 starting 
at 11:00 a.m. Stockholders of record at 
the close of business April 16, 2012, 
are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, 
the Annual Meeting. Stockholders who 
plan to attend the Annual Meeting are 
encouraged to RSVP using the contact 
information shown on the front page of 
the proxy statement.

Form 10-K 
Additional copies are available to 
stockholders, without cost, upon 
written request to the Chief 
Financial Officer of the Company at 
4695 MacArthur Court, Suite 1200, 
Newport Beach, California 92660.

American Vanguard believes in a sustainable planet. This annual 
report is printed on recycled paper.

©2012 American Vanguard Corporation