SEED

Thank you for standing by, welcome to Origin Agritech First Half Fiscal Year 2026 Results Conference Call. Please note that today's call is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Matthew Abenante of Strategic Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and thanks to all of you for joining us today on the Origin Agritech conference call. Joining us on the call today are Mr. Weibin Yan, Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Zheng James Chen, Chief Financial Officer, and Ms. Kate Lang, Director of Investor Relations. Before we begin, I would like to remind our listeners that any statements on this call that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Today's call includes forward-looking statements that address expected future business and financial performance and financial conditions, and contain words such as expect, anticipate, intend, plan, believe, seek, will, would, target, and similar expressions and variations. Forward-looking statements address matters that are uncertain, and they are not guarantees of future performance and are based on assumptions and expectations which may not be realized.

They are based on management's current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections about the company and the industry in which the company operates but involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control. Some of the important factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those discussed in forward-looking statements are failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles, ability to respond to market acceptance, rules, regulations, and policies affecting our products, failure to appropriately manage process safety and product stewardship issues, changes in laws and regulations or political conditions, global economic and capital markets conditions such as inflation, interest, and currency exchange rates, business or supply disruptions, natural disasters and weather events and patterns, ability to protect and enforce the company's intellectual property rights, and separation of underperforming or non-strategic assets or businesses.

The company undertakes no duty or obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments or new information or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. Although the company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. With that, I would like to turn the call over to our first speaker, Mr. Weibin Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Origin Agritech. Hello, Mr. Yan.

Thank you, Matthew Abenante, good morning, good evening to everyone joining us from around the world. The six months ended March 31, 2026, represent the midpoint of the recovery phase of the three-stage strategic plan we announced in November 2024. Up from 2027 to 2029. Return to industrial leadership from 2030 to 2032. When I addressed you on our fiscal year 2025 earnings call in February, I described the recovery work we had completed across our team building research capabilities, production facilities, and sales infrastructure. This half year of the fiscal year 2026 was about taking that rebuilt foundation and beginning to convert it into measurable commercial and scientific outcomes.

I want to take you through several operational areas where we made tangible progress during the period, and then Dr. Chen will walk you through what that progress looked like in our financial statements. In November 2025, we held a research and development conference that sharpened our focus on variety acquisitions, variety developments, and biotech commercialization. With the philosophy either be the first or be unique, we expanded breeding approach and test scales and have made very good progress since then. Our 2025 winter South China breeding work generated over 30,000 new test cross combinations, including those by the most breakthrough gene platforms. By using our Hi3 platform and the leaf-angle reduction gene licensed from China Agricultural University, we completed precision smart plant type improvements on the major varieties in the market to support our partners and ourselves to meet higher density trend in the industry.

During this period, we have restored the sales team to 36 professionals deployed across country, and we have rebuilt the regional presence, including, most importantly, a re-entry into North East China, where in September 2025, we hosted a variety showcase and technology seminar in Changchun, which drew more than 200 dealers and partners. In early March of the year, we held our 2026 annual marketing conference in Changsha, Hunan Province. The total conference convened our subsidiary general managers, regional marketing leadership, and key distribution partners. As a conclusion of that conference, we formally launched the Aoyu 2026 new variety promotion program, our integrated commercial campaigns for this marketing cycle, and signed KPI contracts with general managers of the six regional sales companies across China's principal corn production regions.

With the Aoyu 2026 program and the performance contract we signed, every manager, every region, and every product line now has a very clear annual target and personally owns the outcome. To fill our product portfolio with the most competitive varieties, we have deepened collaborations with top breeders across ecological zones, introduced or jointly assembled over 10,000 new corn combinations in our test pipeline this year by working with more than 30 outstanding breeders in the industry. We now acquired a top-ranked variety, Zhengtai 889, which was jointly developed with the Hunan Agricultural University. Also, a CAU bred Zhongnongda 8538, which performs strongly in Northwest China. In November 2025, the Beijing Tongzhou District Market Supervision Administration approved the inclusion of GMO crop seed production license with our Beijing Origin Seed Limited in the business scope, as I have reported to you previously.

We have two leadership miles subsequent to the reporting period that I want to address directly. First, in March 2026, we welcomed Dr. Jian Zhang to our Board of Directors as an Independent Director. Dr. Zhang has 20 year above experience in global crop biotechnology industry with prior senior roles at the DuPont Pioneer, Syngenta, and BASF. His appointment brings world-class biotechnology and international commercialization experience to our Board at exactly the right time in our development. We are also happy to welcome back Dr. James Chen, retained as Chief Financial Officer. Many of you will know Dr. Chen from his prior service at Origin. Two tenures as CFO and one as CFO. Dr. Chen brings continuity, capital market sophistication, and a deep institutional understanding of the company.

I'm pleased to have him back on the executive team, and this is very helpful for me, and I will turn the call over to him in a moment to walk through the numbers. Finally, during the reporting period, we completed an investment agreement that included a direct equity investment by myself. I want our shareholders to know that my conviction in the path we are executing is reflected not just in my words on this call, also in my own financial state. With that, let me hand it over to Dr. Chen. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yan, and hello everyone. It is great to be back addressing Origin Agritech shareholders. I will walk you through our financial results for the six months ended March 31, 2026, with comparisons to the prior year period. Total revenues for the first half of fiscal 2026 were RMB 49.2 million, or $7.1 million, compared with RMB 72.3 million in the first half of fiscal 2025, a decrease of approximately 31.9%. The decrease was mainly due to the strategic transition in the company's product portfolio, as we are focusing more on the sales of new corn seed products and reducing the external seed tolling service. Gross profit was RMB 5.5 million, or $0.8 million in the first half of fiscal 2026, compared with RMB 8.1 million in the prior year period.

Total operating expenses for the first half of fiscal 2026 were RMB 18.4 million or $2.7 million, compared with RMB 32.8 million in the prior year period, a 43.9% reduction. Let me break that down. General and administrative expenses declined sharply from RMB 25 million to RMB 7.6 million, a 69.8% year-over-year reduction. That reduction reflects the operating discipline now embedded in the business following the leadership restructuring completed in December 2025 and the consolidation of corporate functions on the Beijing Origin. Selling and marketing expenses increased from RMB 2.6 million to RMB 5.1 million, up 93.3%. That increase is intentionally and entirely consistent with our strategy. It reflects the build-out of the 36-person sales organization and the field deployment of the Aoyu 2026 commercial campaign.

Research and development expenses were RMB 5.7 million compared with RMB 5.2 million in the prior year period, an increase of approximately 11.1%, reflecting continued investment in the Hi3 platform and the Shunfeng licensed gene editing program, and the new variety pipelines. Loss from operations for the first half of fiscal 2026 was RMB 12.9 million or $1.9 million, compared with a loss from operation of RMB 24.7 million in the prior year period, a reduction of 47.8% year-over-year. Net loss attributable to Origin Agritech Ltd. was RMB 14.4 million or $2.1 million, compared with a net loss of RMB 25.6 million in the prior year period, a 43.8% improvement. Basic and diluted net loss per share was RMB 1.21 or $0.17, compared with RMB 3.55 in the prior year period. Turning to the balance sheet.

As of March 31, 2026, the company had a cash and cash equivalent of RMB 13.4 million or $1.9 million, compared with RMB 15.9 million as of September 30, 2025. Inventories were RMB 24.8 million or $3.6 million, compared with RMB 14.4 million at fiscal year-end. That increase is seasonal, reflecting the inventory build into spring planting season. Short-term borrowings were RMB 9.5 million or $1.4 million, compared with RMB 8.0 million at fiscal year-end. Total liabilities were RMB 168.1 million or $24.3 million, compared with RMB 162.2 million at fiscal year-end. With that financial summary, I will turn the call back to Mr. Yan for closing remarks.

Thank you. I want to leave you with three observations as we head into the second half of fiscal 2026 on the back half of the recovery phase. The operating leverage in the business is becoming visible in the numbers. A fundamental reduction in general administrative costs in one fiscal year. With a stable gross margin and intentional investments in selling and marketing. It's a financial signature of a company that has completed its restructuring and is now positioned to grow into its customer base. Our biotechnology platform is no longer a research story. It is becoming a commercial story. Hi3 is recognized externally. The GMO varieties are in trial or in the channel. The connective tissue between the laboratory and the customer is being built. The commercial cycle ahead is concrete and metered. The spring planting season is on the way. Aoyu 2026 is in the field.

Performance contracts are signed. The 36 professional sales team is deployed against a defined target. Our first half of fiscal 2027 will tell the market whether the work of the past 18 months is converting into commercial outcomes. I believe it will. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yan. Moreover, we did receive a number of questions in advance of today's call. Ms. Kate Lang will now answer the questions submitted by investors. Hello, Kate.

Hello, Matthew. Thank you. Thank everyone who has submitted questions. Let's hear about them.

Our first question. China has been gradually expanding the geography and acreage for approved commercial GMO corn planting over the past two years. How does that policy direction affect Origin's commercialization timeline? Is there a fiscal year in which investors should expect GMO-related revenue to become a visible line item?

The policy direction in China has been moving favorably over the past two years, with gradual expansion of the geography and acreage approved for commercial GMO corn planting. We are encouraged by that direction. However, I want to be careful now to characterize future regulatory decisions. Those are decisions the Ministry of Agriculture makes on its own timeline, and I am not in a position to forecast them. What I can speak to is Origin's position relative to the policy window. We hold the biosafety certificate for BBL2-2. We have included GMO crop seed production within Beijing Origin's business scope as of October 2025. We have two crop seed production and operation license in China. We have the Xinjiang processing facility restored to industry leading standards.

We have the Origin Marker Biological Breeding Service Consortium with the China Golden Marker Biotech, which gave us a licensing pathway that monetizes the biotechnology independent of our own seed sales. The way I would frame it for shareholders is this. There are not many seed companies in China that hold both the biotechnology credentials and the production and the distribution infrastructure to commercialize GMO corn at scale once the policy window fully opens. Origin is one of them.

You have stated a goal of being one of the top three Chinese corn seed companies by 2030 to 2032. What is the specific competitive position that lets Origin take share from its bigger competitors over the next several years?

I appreciate the question. The path to a top three position by 2030 to 2032 is not a path of outscaling the incumbents on conventional terms. It is a path of competing on biotechnology credentials in the Chinese seed industry that, in my view, is entering a decade of consolidation that rewards biotechnology-credentialed players. Hi3 corn haploid induction gene editing recognized by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in December 2025 as one of the top 10 major progresses in Chinese agricultural science. The Shunfeng BioTech patent license brings Cas-SF01 into our editing toolkit. In-house AI-assisted breeding is running against more than 200,000 germplasm resources. Two crop seed production and operation license. GMO business scope at Beijing Origin. The BBL2-2 biosafety certificate.

That is a biotechnology stack that the conventional scale incumbents cannot easily match. Because it is the product of a sustained, focused 20-year investment in next generation breeding. Over the next decade, I believe the market will increasingly value biotechnology credentials, and Origin is well-positioned for that.

Onto our last question. You have referenced AI-assisted breeding on prior calls and in press releases. Can you describe what that means operationally? What specific tasks are being run on AI? What, is there a measurable improvement in breeding cycle time, trait identification, or hit rate that you can point to?

It is a fair question. I want to answer it concretely because I know that AI can be an overused term in our industry and in the broader market. What we are running operationally is principally three things. First, genomic selection models that score potential crosses against the trait targets we are pursuing: yield, drought tolerance, leaf angle, lodging resistance, and growth period. Using our germplasm database of more than 200,000 corn resources, the model identifies the highest probability candidates before we commit field seeding capacity to evaluate them. Second, image-based phenotyping in our research stations that captures plant performance data at a density and a consistency that manual evaluation cannot match, and then feeds that data back into the selection models.

Third, prediction of optimal donor-recipient pairings for the Hi3 and Shunfeng licensed gene editing pipeline, which is where AI has the most direct impact on the speed of our biotechnology platform. The operational outcome we are working toward and beginning to see is a reduction in the number of field seedings required to validate a candidate variety. That translates into lower R&D cost per validated trait and a faster commercialization path.

Thank you again to everyone for participating in today's call. We look forward to providing additional updates in the near future. Goodbye.

We'd like to thank everybody for their participation on today's conference call. We appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect.

Thank you for standing by and welcome to the Origin Agritech fiscal year 2025 results conference call. Please note that today's call is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Matthew Abenante of Strategic Investor Relations.

Thank you, Operator, and thanks to all of you for joining us today on the Origin Agritech Business Update conference call. Joining us on the call today are Mr. Weibin Yan, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Patrick Cheng, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I would like to remind our listeners that any statements on this call that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Today's call includes forward-looking statements that address expected future business and financial performance and financial conditions and contain words like expect, anticipate, intend, plan, believe, seek, will, would, target, and similar expressions and variations. Forward-looking statements address matters that are uncertain. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on assumptions and expectations which may not be realized.

They're based on management's current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections about the company and the industry, but involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control. Some of the important factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those discussed in forward-looking statements are failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles, ability to respond to market acceptance, rules, regulations, and policies affecting our products, failure to appropriately manage process safety and product stewardship issues, changes in laws and regulations or political conditions, global economic and capital markets conditions such as inflation, interest, and currency exchange rates, business or supply disruptions, natural disasters and weather events and patterns, ability to protect and enforce the company's intellectual property rights, and separation of underperforming or non-strategic assets or businesses.

The company undertakes no duty or obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments or new information or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. Although the company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. You're urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. With that, I would like to turn the call over to our first speaker, Mr. Weibin Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Origin Agritech. Hello, Mr. Yan.

Thank you, Matthew, and thank you all for joining us today. I'm delighted to speak with you about what has been transformative year for Origin Agritech. It has been the first year for me to take the CEO role in the company from September 2024 to September 2025. If I had to capture the theme of this year in a single word, it won't be recovery. We have achieved a full recovery of our team, our research capabilities, our seed production, and processing facilities, and our sales network infrastructure. Origin Agritech is now ready for a new march forward onto our new leadership. In November 2024, we announced our three-stage strategic plan that the company is fully committed to executing. Stage one is recovery, spanning calendar year 2025 and 2026. Stage two is to stand up, covering 2027 through 2029.

Stage three is our return to an industry-leading position, which we aim to achieve from 2030 through 2032. We are confident in this roadmap and already seeing strong progress in stage one. Let me share our key accomplishments in 2025. Our senior leadership team is now fully in place and energized. We have recovered our headcount from 68 to 97 professionals, a testament to our renewed ability to attract and retain top talents. We are also reshaping our decentralization efforts across the organization to drive efficiency and innovation. On the research front, we have made tremendous strides. We upgraded our Beijing Station and the Sanya Station and opened a new station in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. Zhengzhou is in Henan Province. Our research facility in Guiyang, that's Guizhou Province, is under construction and will be opened in Q1 2026.

We have mostly renewed our product portfolio, and our research pipeline is now stocked with the most competitive germplasm targeting the next generation of industry competition. The commercialization of GMO and functional gene editing technology has been accelerated through a strategic alliance with China Golden Marker. Our upgraded Xinjiang production and processing facility is now back to industry-leading standards. On the sales front, our team and the infrastructure have been greatly improved. We established a new sales force in the Northeast China, East China provinces, and our sales team and entity restructuring have been mostly concluded in December 2025. Additionally, Beijing Origin achieved its seed production operation license in December 2025, making another important milestone.

We are confident that the strategic decisions and investments we made in 2025 have positioned Origin Agritech for sustainable long-term growth and will deliver significant value to the farmers and our shareholders in the coming years ahead. Thank you, and I will turn the call over to our CFO, Patrick Cheng, to discuss our financial results. Thank you, Matthew.

Thank you, Mr. Yan. I will review our financial performance for the fiscal year 2025. For fiscal year 2025, we reported total revenues of CNY 91.3 million or $12.9 million. This represents a 90% decrease from the previous year. This decline was primarily driven by two factors. First, a decrease in sales of non-proprietary seed varieties as we strategically shifted focus and temporarily reduced some external production services during the upgrade of our Xinjiang facility. Second, increased market competition for our legacy proprietary seed products. This resulted in a net loss attributable to Origin of CNY 53.3 million or $7.5 million. It's important to note that our fiscal year 2024 results included a one-time gain from a subsidiary disposal, which was not repeated this year. Turning to our balance sheet and cash flow, we ended the year in a strong liquidity position.

Our cash and cash equivalents increased by 89% to CNY 15.9 million. During the year, we successfully raised $5.38 million through the sale of ordinary shares. These funds are being strategically deposited for working capital, market expansion, and facility upgrades. Net cash used in operating activities was CNY 22.9 million, reflecting our investment in inventory and operations. Net cash used in investing activities was CNY 13.7 million, primarily for the upgrades to our production facilities. Net cash provided by financing activities was CNY 44.3 million, largely from the capital raise. In summary, while our 2025 financial results reflect a period of transition and strategic investment, we have strengthened our balance sheet and allocated capital to the key drivers of future growth. We are confident that this investment in technology, infrastructure, and people will create significant value for our shareholders in the coming years. Thank you.

Thank you. This does conclude today's program, and we appreciate your participation. You may now disconnect.

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Origin Agritech Fiscal Year 2024 Conference Call. Please note that, today's call is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Matthew Abenante of Strategic Investor Relations.

Thank you, operator, and thanks to all of you for joining us today on the Origin Agritech Fiscal Year 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Joining us on the call today are Mr. Weibin Yan, Chief Executive Officer; and Mr. Patrick Cheng, Chief Financial Officer. The format of our call will consist of a company update provided by Mr. Yan and Mr. Cheng, followed by a question-and-answer session addressing the questions submitted by investors. We thank everyone for submitting these questions. Before we begin, I would like to remind our listeners that any statements on this call that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Today's call includes forward-looking statements that address expected future business and financial performance and financial conditions, and contain words like expect, anticipate, intend, plan, believe, seek, will, would, target and similar expressions and variations. Forward-looking statements address matters that are uncertain. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on assumptions and expectations which may not be realized. They are based on management's current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the company and the industry in which the company operates, but involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control. Some of the important factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those discussed in forward-looking statements are failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles, ability to respond to market acceptance, rules, regulations and policies affecting our products, failure to appropriately manage process safety and product stewardship issues, changes in laws and regulations or political conditions; global economic and capital markets conditions such as inflation, interest and currency exchange rates, business or supply disruptions, natural disasters and weather events and patterns, ability to protect and enforce the company's intellectual property rights and separation of underperforming or non-strategic assets or businesses. The company undertakes no duty or obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments or new information or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. Although, the company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. And with that, I would like to turn over the call to our first speaker, Mr. Weibin Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Origin Agritech. Hello, Mr. Yan.

So thank you, Matthew, and thank you all for joining us. As the new CEO of Origin Agritech, I'm excited to share our vision and strategic direction. Let me start by acknowledging where we are today. Origin Agritech has achieved several significant milestones in 2024 with our revenue growing 24.6% to US$16.2 million. This growth was primarily driven by the higher volume of the corn seed sales as a result of improving corn market. In May 2024, we received a GMO safety certificate for our BBL2-2 transgenic maize, which contains advanced insect resistance and herbicide-tolerance traits. This technology stack provides robust protection against major pets like corn borer and lice beetles, which offer four times full stack tolerance. We already have [indiscernible] successfully might cross with this trait. Another major achievement was our publication letter, which described our breakthrough in induction line gene editing technology. Maybe you already know that, we've established the world's first efficient genetic transformation system for maize introduction line Hi3. This isn't just an academic achievement. It has a real commercial implication, allowing us to develop improved traits like leaf angle, enhanced drought resistance and strong lodging resistance in a fraction of the time compared to traditional breeding. To accelerate the commercialization of these technologies, we established the Origin Marker Biological Breeding Service Consortium in October 2024. We are already working with thousands of breeding companies across China to improve our corn yield. This consortium approach allows us to maximize the impact of our innovations, while creating new revenue streams. Looking ahead, we have a clear three phase strategy. For fiscal years 2024 to 2026, our immediate focus is on stabilization, achieving cash flow breakeven from operations, improving our industrial systems and resolving historical challenges, while maintaining strong operations. From 2027, we aim to establish ourselves as one of China's six leading corn companies with leading research capabilities and as the highest seed quality and operational compliance reputations, compliance is becoming more and more important today. By 2030 to 2032, which is the third stage, our goal is to become one of China's top five corn seed companies and a leading global biotech seed company with 20% of our revenue coming from overseas markets. We are strengthening our core infrastructure, expanding our technology platform capabilities and exploring new opportunities in nutritional food and related areas. With over 4,000 hectares fixed plantation and advanced processing equipment, our Xinjiang production facility gives us the scale to support our growth. I'm particularly excited about our new product pipeline. We have eight new varieties launching in 2025, targeting different regions and several more in advanced trials. This diverse portfolio addresses various market needs from high-density planting to specific regional adaptations. But perhaps most importantly, we will assist an outstanding leadership team. Dr. Gengchen Han remains to be the Chairman of the Board, and I'm personally taking the CEO role. This bring continuity and the deep industrial expertise with new knowledges, we will add experienced Executive across Research & Development, Production, Quality Control, and Corporate Development. Already Agritech became as a pioneer in China's corn seed industry today, we are transforming into a global agriculture technology leader, combining biotechnology innovation with conventional operating expertise. We are not just developing better seeds, but advancing sustainability, agriculture, and food security. Our vision is to become the most trusted high-tech seed and agriculture company for farmers and the society. With our strengthened team, advanced technology platform, and a clear strategic roadmap, I'm confident we can achieve this goal, while delivering substantial value to our shareholders. Speaking of our strengthened team, I will pass the call over to our new Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Cheng, to give our financial results. Please, Patrick.

Thank you, Mr. Yan. As the new CFO of Origin Agritech, I'm pleased to present our financial results for fiscal year 2024, which demonstrates both our progress and the investment we are making in our future growth. Let me start with our top line performance for fiscal year 2024. We achieved a revenue of $16.2 million, representing a 24.6% increase from $13 million in fiscal year 2023. This growth was primarily driven by the higher volume for corn seed sales as a result of improvement of market competitors of our sales. Our general and administrative expenses increased to $5.1 million from $1.99 million, primarily due to necessary investment in talent, systems and professional services to support our growth initiatives. We have also increased our R&D investment to $1.5 million, up from $1 million as we continue to advance our biotechnology platforms and develop new seed varieties. In terms of bottom line performance, our net income from continuing operations was $2.7 million, while this is lower than the $8.7 million reported in fiscal year 2023. It's important to note that the prior year figure included a greater contribution from the onetime gains from subsidiary disposals. We had a net income attributable to Origin of $3 million compared with $7.7 million in the prior year for the same reasons as I just mentioned. Turning to our liquidity position. We ended the year with cash and cash equivalents of $1.2 million compared to $3.3 million at the same period a year ago. Our cash flow metrics reflect the investment we're making in the business. Operating cash flow usage increased $2.1 million, primarily due to working capital investments to support our growth. And on our financing activities provided $0.6 million in cash flow compared to $3.2 million in the prior year. The company did not issue or sell ordinary shares during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. Looking ahead, we have a clear financial strategies aligned with our 3-phase business plan. In the near term, our focus is on achieving cash flow breakeven, while maintaining necessary investment in R&D and operational improvements. We are implementing enhanced cost control and working capital management practices, while ensuring we maintain investment in critical growth initiatives. For the medium term, we are focused on driving profitable growth through commercialization of our biotechnology innovation and expansion of our seed business. We expect to see improving margin as we scale these operations. In long term, our goal is to build a sustainable, profitable business model that combines stable seed revenues with high-margin biotechnology licensing and service fees. We have also identified several operational efficiency opportunities, particularly in our Xinjiang facilities which should help improve our margin over time. Additionally, our new variety launching in 2025 are expected to contribute positively to our revenue growth and profitabilities. In conclusion, while we're making necessary investment for future growth, we are doing so with financial discipline and a clear path to improve the profitability’s. Our balance sheet is improved. Our cost structure is become more efficient, and we have the financial flexibility to execute our financial plans. Thank you for your attention. Matthew, we can start the question-and-answer session, please.

Thank you. Our first question from -- that were submitted by investors. And again, thank you to investors for submitting your questions. Why has the gross margin in the past two years been significantly lower than in the early 2000s, in particular, between 2004 and 2005?

Thank you for the insightful questions about our historical margin trends. The difference in gross margins between this period, reflects both industry evolution and our strategic positioning for future growth. You see in the early 2000, the Chinese seed industry was in a different phase with fewer competitors and lower market saturation. Today's environment is more competitive, but we are executing a deliberate courage that we believe will return us to and potentially exceed the historical margins through three key initiatives. First, our BBL2-2 GMO corn varieties, which received safety certificate in May 2024, commenced premium pricing with 35 varieties already incorporating this traits and more in development, we expect to see margin expansion as these products enter the market. Second, our gene-editing breakthrough published in NATURE enables to develop improved varieties much faster and at a lower cost than traditional breeding. This technology advantage, combined with our original marker biologic operating service consortium is creating high-margin revenue streams through licensing and services that were not available in the 2000s. Third, we invested significantly in modernizing our Xinjiang facility, which can process 75,000 tons annually, while this investment impacted growth in the margins that give us economic of scale that will improve profitability as the volume increase. Looking ahead, we expect our margins to improve substantially as these initiatives more NATURE become more mature. Unlike the 2000s, when margins were purely from seed sales, our future margin profile will benefit from a mix of permanent seeds products and high-margin biotechnology services and licensing fees. This will diversify our revenue stream, which not only help us recover historical margin levels, but establish a more sustainable and profitable business model for the long-term.

Thank you. Our next question, is the company on track to meet revenue forecast that were shared back in June 2024?

Thank you for your question. Under our new management team, we have developed a comprehensive eight-year strategy road map that surpasses previous guidance. We believe this strategy provides a clear and more actionable framework for investors to understand our path forward. In Phase 1 covering 2024 to 2026, we are focused on fundamental strengthening of our business, achieving cash flow breakeven and optimize our operations. The 24.6% revenue growth we achieved in fiscal year 2024 demonstrates early progress, but we are more focused on building a sustainable foundation than meeting short-term targets. Looking further ahead, Phase 2 and 3 augment our path to becoming first top six and ultimately a top five corn seed companies in China. This ambitious, but achievable goals are supported by concrete assets and capabilities, our newly upgraded Xinjiang facility, our breakthrough gene editing technology published in nature, our BBL2-2 GMO corn varieties and other varieties and GMOs on pipeline. Rather than focusing on past projections, we invite investors to evaluate us on our execution of the strategic road map. We believe this provides a more meaningful framework for measuring our progress and potential. Each quarter, we will update you on our advancement through this phase and the specific milestones we are achieving along the way.

Thank you. Our next question, will you please consider changing the fiscal year to a calendar year to show annual results to investors better. The planting and harvesting season and when results are reported do not make much sense currently.

Thank you, Matthew. You raised a valid point about better matching our reporting to natural agriculture sectors. We agree that this could provide more clarity to investors about our seasonal business patterns. As part of our broader corporate governance improvements under the new management team, we are continually evaluating several reporting optimizations, including this potential change. Our transition requires careful planning to ensure a smooth financial reporting and compliance with both U.S. and Chinese regulations. We will update investors if we decide to move forward with this change. Thank you.

Thank you. What plans do you have to scale up NEC to a level where you can meet the demand of purchasers like Muyuan in the past?

Thank you. Our Xinjiang facility actually gives us significant capacity to meet large-scale demand from our customers like Muyuan. Our facility has a seat plantation of 4,000 hectares and an annual processing capacity of over 75,000 tons. However, we are able to take a systematic approach to scaling up our NEC production while keeping our limited resources at the moment under the breakthroughs of GMO and gene editing, which made us more valuable and competitive in the seed industry. I have talked to the Board to suspend the NEC business of the company in order to focus on the biotechnology commercialization and seek sales expansion. I thought our new prioritization of the business will enable the company to gain a further position in the biotechnology and seed competition, which is more value added than NEC business and bring further value to the society and our shareholders. So this is the situation. Thank you, Matthew.

Thank you. Our next question, your gene editing breakthrough published in nature seems significant. Can you explain how this translates to commercial value?

Good question. Thank you. Absolutely. Our gene editing system for corn in reduction line is a game-changing technology, while others typically need three to four years for trait improvement through traditional by crossing. We can now achieve precise genetic modifications in just one year. This means we can bring improved varieties to market much faster and at a lower cost. We already developed more than 10 mines with enhanced traits like better drought resistance and improvement plant architecture. This technology is so valuable that we are now partnering with dozens of operating companies across China to improve our one country, corn varieties. This is more effective. Thank you.

And what differentiates Origin from other agricultural biotechnology companies in China?

Yes, another good question. We have unique big advantage. First, we are the only Chinese seed company with both GMO and gene editing capabilities at one level, demonstrated by our GMO safety certificate BBL2-2 and our later publication. Second, we have end-to-end capabilities from research through production, with our state-of-the-art Xinjiang facility of processing 75,000 tons annually capability. This will enable us to gain a stronger position than other seed biotechnology companies. Third, we have an extensive Germplasm Bank and rating programs that have been developed over -- in the past 25 years. This compilation allows us to develop breakthrough technologies and quickly incorporate them into commercial production. Thank you.

The next question, your eight-year strategy seems quite ambitious. What gives you confidence you can achieve these goals?

Okay. Thank you. You see we have four key advantages that make our goals achievable. First, GMO, we just received the GMO safety certificate for our BBL2-2 corn, which has already been incorporated into 35-hour orders. Second, gene editing. Our gene editing platform is providing transformation as validated by later. Third, service platform, we established the Origin marker biological operating service consortium, which is already generating revenue through partnership. Fourth, seed platform, Origin has a good reputation in Chinese corn seed market for its high quality and extensive network of distribution partners and research partners, modern seed processing facilities and genplatin resources is a full cycle seed company. Of course, finally, we have a new management team with deep industry expertise. We added key executives across Research & Development, Production, and Sales. Most importantly, we already see the results, 25% revenue growth this year, reduced losses, and eight new varieties ready for launching in 2025. Thank you.

And here's our last question. How do you see the Chinese agricultural biotechnology market evolving?

Thank you. China is at an inflection point in the adoption of agricultural biotechnology. The government strongly supports GMO commercialization and innovative breaking technologies to ensure food security. We are perfectly positioned to capitalize on this shift. We have approved GMO trait, advanced gene editing capabilities, and the production facilities to scale quickly. So, our position as the first Chinese seed company to achieve many biotechnology milestones give us a first-mover advantage as the market develops. Thank you, Matthew.

Thank you. And as I said, there's no further questions. So, I'll hand the floor back over to you, Mr. Yan.

Thank you. Thank you, Matthew. And thank you, everyone, for participating on today's call. Before we end our call, I would like to thank you for your continued support and brief in Origin Agritech, we have made remarkable strides in the past year in advancing our groundbreaking agriculture technologies. In closing, I want to reiterate that we are committed to enhancing shareholder value and achieving a fair market valuation that reflects the true potential of our company. Thank you once again for joining us today and we look forward to sharing more of our journey with you in the coming months. Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our conference for today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.