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SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(a) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
(AMENDMENT NO. ONE)
Filed by the Registrant [X]
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant [ ]
Check the appropriate box:
[ ] Preliminary Proxy Statement
[ ] Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by
Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
[ ] Definitive Proxy Statement
[X] Definitive Additional Materials
[ ] Soliciting Material Pursuant to 240.14a-11(c) or 240.14a-12
ERLY Industries Inc.
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(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
[X] No fee required.
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pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (Set forth the amount on which the
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[ ] Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act
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paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement
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[LARGE ERLY LOGO]
ERLY INDUSTRIES INC.
PRESENTATION TO SHAREHOLDERS
<PAGE> 3
ERLY INDUSTRIES INC.
Two years ago, ERLY publicly stated its business strategy as follows:
1. BUILD UPON BRAND LEADERSHIP
2. CONTINUE EXPANSION INTO NEW MARKETS
3. INCREASE DIVERSITY OF SOURCES
4. IMPROVE SIZE AND SCALE EFFICIENCY
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ERLY INDUSTRIES INC.
BUSINESS STRATEGY
Implementation of this strategy has occurred through the following:
1 ERLY ACQUIRED EARLY CALIFORNIA FOODS (ECF) IN JULY 1996. ECF'S BRANDS HAVE
35.8% OF THE DOMESTIC MARKET FOR BLACK OLIVES AND 25.2% OF THE GREEN OLIVE
DOMESTIC MARKET.
2 MANAGEMENT HAS INCREASED EXPORT RICE MARKETS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND EUROPE
TO MAINTAIN SALES GROWTH WHILE INCREASING DIVERSIFICATION OF ITS SALES.
3 INCREASED SOURCING OF RAW PRODUCT FROM OUTSIDE THE US REDUCES THE IMPACT
OF COMMODITY PRICE VOLATILITY.
4 FIVE YEARS OF CONSISTENT SALES GROWTH FOR RICE, OLIVES AND CHEMONICS
CONSULTING HAVE IMPROVED OPERATING EFFICIENCIES.
THE RESULTS ARE SHOWN IN THE FOLLOWING CHARTS:
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ERLY INDUSTRIES INC.
FISCAL YEARS ENDED MARCH 31, 1993 - MARCH 31, 1997
SALES
(IN THOUSANDS OF $)
[Bar Chart Showing Sales Per Fiscal Year]
1997 $614,300
1996 $486,626
1995 $459,599
1994 $334,824
1993 $219,431
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ERLY INDUSTRIES INC.
SALES GROWTH
[Bar Chart Showing Sales of
American Rice-Rice
American Rice-Olives
Consulting
Fire-Trol
per Fiscal Year]
($ MILLIONS)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
1997 1996 1995 1994 1993
------ ------ ------ ------ ------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
American Rice-Rice 444.6 391.1 373.1 284.5 169.6
Early California Olives 71.3 3.7
Consulting 77.4 77.8 63.5 41.9 37.2
Fire-Trol 20.9 14.0 23.0 8.4 12.6
TOTAL 614.2 486.6 459.6 334.8 219.4
</TABLE>
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<PAGE> 7
ERLY INDUSTRIES INC.
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
[Bar Chart showing Stockholder's Equity at End of Fiscal Year]
$ THOUSANDS
1993 $(9,194)
1994 8,394
1995 16,799
1996 17,534
1997 24,780
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AMERICAN RICE, INC.
[American Rice Logo]
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AMERICAN RICE, INC. FACILITIES
[Map of the World Setting forth American Rice Facilities]
ARI OWNED & OPERATED
ARI AFFILIATED & OPERATED
ARI AFFILIATED, NOT OPERATED BY ARI
[American Rice Logo]
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FARMERS RICE MILL FACILITY
[Map of the World Setting Forth Farmers Rice Facility]
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WORLD RICE TRADE FOR 1996
ESTIMATED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 20 MILLION METRIC TONS
[Pie Chart Showing Percentage Share of Market]
U.S. 14%
EU 2%
PAKISTAN 7%
CHINA 2%
INDIA 17%
ALL OTHERS 10%
AUSTRALIA 3%
VIETNAM 16%
BURMA 2%
THAILAND 27%
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<PAGE> 12
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA IMPORT ESTIMATES
FY 1995
TOTAL IMPORTS 700,000 METRIC TONS
[PIE CHART SHOWING PERCENTAGE SHARE OF MARKET]
ARI 16.0%
Riceland 4.3%
Uncle Bens 2.6%
Others 1.4%
Thailand 15.7%
Pakistan 8.6%
India 51.4%
Source: ARI Management Estimate
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HAITI RICE SHARE OF MARKET
BY COMPANY
[PIE CHART SHOWING PERCENTAGE SHARE OF MARKET]
ARI 54%
Trujillo 13%
Commodity Specialists 9%
New Field Partners 8%
Midwest Trading 3%
PS International 2%
Euronaid 2%
All Others 9%
Source: ARI Management Estimate
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<PAGE> 14
PUERTO RICO RICE SHARE OF MARKET
BY COMPANY
[PIE CHART SHOWING PERCENTAGE SHARE OF MARKET]
ARI 15%
Pan American Grain 22%
Riviana 15%
Liberty 10%
ADM 5%
Riceland 5%
Private Label 20%
Government/Other 8%
Source: ARI Management Estimate
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ARI SOURCE DIVERSITY
(ROUGH RICE BASIS)
[Pie Chart Showing Shares of Sources of Rice]
Mississippi 11%
Louisiana 4%
California 32%
Arkansas 9%
Vietnam 13%
India 5%
Texas 26%
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ARI MARKET DIVERSITY
(RICE EXPORTS)
[Pie Chart Showing Percentage Share of Exports]
U.S. 33%
Saudi 15%
Carribean 15%
Europe 3%
Other 5%
Asia 7%
Turkey 4%
Other Middle
East 18%
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U.S. RICE MILLERS
SHARE OF ESTIMATED CAPACITY
[Pie Chart Showing Percentage Share of Estimated Capacity]
American Rice 19.4%
All Other 10.5%
Gulf Pacific 2.2%
Supreme Rice Mill 2.2%
Affiliated 2.8%
Farmers Rice Mill 2.8%
Louis-Dreyfus 3.9%
Uncle Ben 4.2%
Producers 4.4%
ADM 5.0%
Riviana Foods 5.0%
Busch Agricultural 5.5%
Cargill 6.6%
Farmers Rice Co-Operative 7.8%
Riceland Foods 17.7%
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[EARLY CALIFORNIA OLIVES LOGO]
EARLY
CALIFORNIA
OLIVES
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OLIVE ACQUISITION SUMMARY
o Dominant industry brand name
-- Early California and Vlasic dominant brands with 35.82% ripe olive
retail dollar share
-- Market-leading brands command higher prices and stronger processor
margins
o Low cost producer
-- Substantial and quickly attainable cost-saving strategies
-- Only U.S. marketer with procurement and plants in both Spain and
U.S.
o Attractive industry fundamentals
-- Reduced competition with only four domestic ripe olive processors;
down from 27 in 1960
-- Steadily increasing per capita consumption
-- Stable acreage commitment from growers
o Experienced management team with olive industry expertise
-- Owned and operated ECF profitably from 1964 to 1984
[LOGO]
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BUSINESS STRATEGY
CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY INEFFICIENCIES
- ------------------------------------
o High-Cost production
o Eliminated private label sales
o Poor inventory management
-- Established zero carryover policy
-- Blind marketing
-- Sold bulk inventory to reduce carryover
o Confused growers with inconsistent grower contracting practices
o Inexperienced, short-term focused and compartmentalized management
team
EARLY CALIFORNIA OLIVES STRATEGY
- ------------------------------------
o Re-establish low-cost production
-- Increased yield
-- Reduce labor and production costs
-- Improve plant utilization
o Re-establish private label sales
o Focus on improving inventory management
-- Efficiently allocate erratic supply to growing demand
-- Maintain balanced distribution channels
-- Maximize value of available inventory
o Re-establish and maintain strong grower base
o Experienced management team with historical success operating
the business profitably
[LOGO]
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[LOGO]
CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL INC.
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CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL INC.
CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS
o Largest US International Development Consulting Firm
o Major clients: USAID, WORLD BANK, IDB, ADB
o Offices in over 40 countries
o Experience in over 100 countries
o Maintains a contract backlog of over $200 million
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CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL INC.
REVENUE GROWTH 1988-1997
[Bar Graph Showing Sales Per FY]
[Logo]
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
10,364,426 14,512,459 20,610,839 20,409,162 31,034,873 37,185,030 41,943,936 63,546,193 77,753,436 77,426,571
</TABLE>
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CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL INC.
FY 1997 TURNOVER: $76.2 MIL.
[Pie Chart Showing Sales and Percentage of Sales]
ENVIRONMENT & URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE $29.5 MIL. 39%
AGRIBUSINESS $20.8 MIL. 27%
PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT $16.7 MIL. 22%
LAW & GOVERNANCE $ 8.7 MIL. 11%
OTHER $0.49 MIL. 1%
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ERLY INDUSTRIES INC.
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM YEARS OF EXPERIENCE YEARS WORKED FOR
IN AGRIBUSINESS G.D. MURPHY
Gerald Murphy 33
Douglas Murphy 15 14
Richard McCombs 13 11
Bill McFarland 22 22
Tony Teele 10 10
Senior Vice Presidents and 137 98
Vice Presidents (7)
Total excluding Gerald & 182 141
Douglas Murphy
ERLY HAS A SEASONED MANAGEMENT TEAM
WITH 141 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH GERRY MURPHY.
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<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Total return for the
NASDAQ Stock
ERLY Market - U.S. S&P Food Products
Measurement Period Industries Inc. companies Companies Inc.
- ------------------ --------------- -------------------- ------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C>
At April 1, 1992 $100 $100 $100
FYE March 31, 1993 94 115 109
FYE March 31, 1994 135 124 101
FYE March 31, 1995 333 138 120
FYE March 31, 1996 299 187 151
FYE March 31, 1997 309 208 190
</TABLE>
ERLY Industries Inc.
Stock Price Comparison
[CHART SHOWING MARKET PRICES AT END FY]
ERLY Industries
NASDQ Stocks
S&P Food Stocks
Source: Nasdq & S&P, March 31 data for each year
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ERLY INDUSTRIES INC.
STOCK PRICE PERFORMANCE
[Chart Showing Average Market Prices]
ERLYARID
Jan 84 -- Aug 97
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
1984 3.307 3.638 3.408 2.828 2.531 2.328 2.126 2.22 3.071 3.071 4.184 3.442
1985 3.307 3.476 3.51 3.712 4.016 4.319 5.366 5.737 5.737 5.528 5.291 5.501
1986 5.163 5.096 4.853 5.298 6.243 7.822 8.538 8.475 8.396 7.896 7.159 6.648
1987 7.154 8.335 7.687 6.54 6.749 7.08 6.648 7.12 7.016 5.197 4.157 3.712
1988 4.12 4.083 3.638 3.861 3.861 4.306 4.454 4.187 4.232 4.225 4.002 3.43
1989 3.348 3.258 3.716 5.512 5.665 5.717 5.831 5.145 5.145 5.39 4.9 4.716
1990 4.671 5.39 5.884 5.471 5.525 5.471 5.659 4.357 4.042 4.397 4.15 4.002
1991 3.967 4.694 5.474 5.623 5.879 6.176 5.188 5.04 4.644 4.348 4.249 3.508
1992 3.063 2.717 2.569 2.372 2.668 2.075 1.729 1.927 1.522 1.68 2.52 2.619
1993 3.014 3.162 2.767 2.372 2.816 3.706 3.454 2.551 1.945 1.581 1.779 2.47
1994 3.261 3.854 4.051 3.31 3.656 5.188 6.719 7.115 7.312 7.485 8.004 7.204
1995 6.374 7.658 9.042 8.735 8.439 8.498 8.103 8.103 6.67 7.656 7.045 6.477
1996 6.818 6.193 7.33 7.943 7.5 8.295 8.693 7.614 7.045 7.188 7.563 8.125
1997 8.063 8.281 8.625 8.375 9.238 10.375 11.344 10.313
</TABLE>
Source: NASDAQ average of high and low monthly prices.
All prices adjusted for the following stock dividends:
FY 1987 10%; 1998 10%; 1989 10%; 1990 10%; 1995 10%; 1996 10%.
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<PAGE> 28
ERLY INDUSTRIES INC.
Management Requests That You Approve the Amendments
o Eliminate Cumulative Voting
o Require Shareholder meetings for Shareholder Actions
And To Elect Management's Proposed Board of Directors;
Gerald Murphy, William Burgess, Douglas Murphy, Alan Wiener, Bill McFarland.
Your Board and Management is committed to your Company and owns
37% of the outstanding shares.
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[LARGE LOGO]
ERLY INDUSTRIES INC.
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