QINGDAO, China, Aug. 14 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sinoenergy Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: SNEN), ("Sinoenergy"), a manufacturer of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle and gas station equipment and a designer, developer and operator of CNG filling stations in China, yesterday announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2007.
Second Quarter Highlights
-- Sales increased 82.7% year over year to a record $6.2 million
-- Gross Profit increased 167.6% year over year to $3.2 million, or 51.9%
of sales
-- Operating income grew 279.5% year over year to $2.2 million
-- Net income increased to $2.0 million, or $0.07 per share
"This quarter's solid results are highlighted by record net income and strong growth in our CNG equipment and conversion kit businesses," said Mr. Bo Huang, CEO of Sinoenergy Corporation. "We believe our strategic expansion into building our own network of CNG stations, as well as into manufacturing CNG vehicle conversion kits, has enabled us to develop from a CNG equipment provider to a diversified enterprise covering the compressed natural gas vehicle market."
Second Quarter 2007 Results
For the quarter ended June 30, 2007, total revenue was $6.2 million, an 82.7% increase from $3.4 million in the same quarter in 2006. The increase in revenue was due to the newly developed vehicle conversion kit business, which generated $2.6 million, about 42% of the total sales for the quarter. The sales from CNG station facilities and construction also increased by $959,000, or 69.2%, from the second quarter of last year, to $2.3 million. Revenue contributed from the non-standard pressure container business declined from $2.0 million in the second quarter of 2006 to $1.2 million this quarter. The decrease in sales of pressure containers resulted from the restructuring of our pressure container product line in the first quarter of 2007.
Gross profit increased 167.7% year over year in the second quarter of 2007 to $3.2 million. Gross margin was 51.9% in the second quarter of 2007, compared to 35.4% in the same period last year. The increase in gross margins was due to the change in the company's product mix. The non-standard pressure container business has relatively low margins, but it only accounted for 20% of the revenue for the quarter, in comparison to 59% for the same quarter last year. However, the CNG station facilities and construction business segment, which has higher margins, accounted for 37.9% of revenues. The new vehicle fuel conversion kit business achieved a gross margin of 35% and accounted for 42% of total sales.
Operating expenses in the second quarter of 2007 were approximately $993,000, up 61.5% from $615,000 in the second quarter of 2006. The increase reflects a $330,000 expense relating to the grant of stock options to purchase 1,380,000 shares of common stock, which is included in general and administrative expenses. Exclusive of this expense, the operating expenses of the June 2007 quarter were consistent with the June 2006 quarter, which is a result of cost reduction strategies put in place. Operating income increased 279.5% year over year from $584,000, or 17.3% of revenue, in the second quarter of 2006 to $2.2 million, 36% of revenue, for the current quarter.
Net income increased to $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2007, or $0.07 per share (basic and diluted), compared to a net income of approximately $137,000, or $.01 per share (basic and diluted) in the second quarter of 2006.
Six Months 2007 Results
Net revenue was $8.8 million in the six months ended June 30, 2007, up 49.7%, from $5.9 million in the six months ended June 30, 2006. This increase results from our new developed vehicle conversion kit business, which generated revenue of $2.6 million, or 29.5% of sales in the first half of 2007, and an increase of $1.5 million, or 54%, in sales from CNG station facilities and construction; however, these earnings were offset by a decline of $1.1 million, or 36.2% from pressure container sales. The decrease in sales of pressure containers resulted from a restructuring of our pressure container product line in the first quarter of 2007, when our sales from this segment were less than $800,000.
Gross profit was $4.2 million, or 48.3% of revenue, up 84.3% from $2.3 million, or 39.2% of revenue, in the six months ended June 30, 2006. The increase in gross margins was due to the change in the company's product segment sales, as discussed above.
Operating expenses were approximately $1.6 million in the first half of 2007, an increase of $610,000, or 60.7%, compared period of 2006. The increase was mainly from the $345,000 expense relating to the grant to stock options to purchase 1,380,000 shares of common stock, which is included in general and administrative expenses and $37,000 cost accrued for warrants issued for services in February 2007. During 2007, Sinoenergy implemented a cost reduction strategy in our Sinogas and Yuhan subsidiaries which enabled it to operate more efficiently. Other than these non-cash expenses, the operating expenses for the first half of 2007 quarter were lower than those of the first half of 2006. Operating income for the six-month period in 2007 was $2.6 million, up 102.5% from $1.3 million in the comparable period in 2006.
Net income was $2.3 million, or $0.10 per share (basic and diluted), up 385% from $473,000, or $0.03 per share (basic and diluted), in the six months ended June 30, 2006.
Financial Condition
At June 30, 2007, we had cash of $4.3 million, up from $588,000 at December 31, 2006. As of June 30, 2007, our working capital was $5.3 million. Net cash used by operating activities was $269,000 during the first half year of 2007. The increase in cash and working capital resulted largely from the $11.3 million which we received from the exercise of warrants during the first half year of 2007. The net proceeds from the warrant exercises strengthens our balance sheet and provides us with nearly 50% of the capital necessary to finance the construction of 30 CNG stations forecasted for the year 2007, with the balance expected to be provided through bank loans.
Total liabilities, including short-term bank loans and other short-term credit instruments, were $12.1 million as of June 30, 2007. Stockholders' equity was $30.2 million at the June 30, 2007, compared with $16.0 million at December 31, 2006. The debt to equity ratio was 0.4 at June 30, 2007.
Significant Information
-- On June 18, 2007, Sinoenergy signed a natural gas sale and purchase
agreement between the Company's 55% subsidiary, Hubei Gather Energy Gas
Co., Ltd. and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation ("Sinopec"). The
construction of a super-large CNG mother station with annual processing
capacity of 100-300 million cubic meters in Hubei Wuhan is in
development and the station is expected to operational in 2009.
-- On May 14, 2007, Sinogas, the wholly owned subsidiary of Sinoenergy,
was granted the land use rights for the 60,860 square meter
(approximately 653,000 square feet) plot of land on which Sinogas'
facilities are located. The land is located in the central part of
Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China, and we believe that the land
use rights has a value of approximately $18 million, which is the
purchase price that we paid for the land use rights. As the owner for
the transferable land use rights for a 50-year term with an option to
renew, Sinoenergy plans to capitalize on the value of this land through
either direct sale, pledged borrowing, commercial lease or real estate
development, so as to free additional capital to support the growth of
its business.
-- On July 4, 2007, Sinoenergy acquired 45% ownership of Anhui Gather
Energy Gas Co., Ltd., at the price of $2.75 million, of which $750,000
has been paid to the former equity owner and $2 million will be
invested into Anhui Gather Energy Gas Co. The Anhui Gather Energy Gas
Co., Ltd plans to build and operate a large-scale compressed natural
gas plant within Xuancheng City in Anhui province to deliver CNG to
more than 20 cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region. The plant will
be designed to have 100-300 million cubic meters of annual processing
capacity once it is fully operational. The Xuancheng government has
also agreed to provide Anhui Gather the usage of the 40,000 square
meter construction site and a preferential income tax rate. Anhui
Gather will receive tax-exemption during its first two profitable years,
and will be assessed half of the normal tax rate for the following
three years. The agreement sets forth Sinopec's commitment to provide
Anhui Gather an initial annual volume of 50 million cubic meters per
year with the possibility of increasing to 200 cubic meters per year.
-- In accord with the company's strategy to develop the CNG wholesale and
retail markets in Central and Eastern China, Sinoenergy plans to
commence construction of a total of 30 CNG filling stations during 2007,
of which about 20 CNG stations are expected to be operational by the
end of 2007. Construction is currently underway at 16 stations, of
which 12 stations are in engineering stage and four filling stations in
design phase, and the remaining 14 stations in the early preparation
stage. Sinoenergy expects to open the first three filling stations in
Wuhan in late August or early September 2007. Our goal is to build a
total of 70 CNG filling stations by the end of 2009.
-- In order to further promote clean energy, the PRC has recently offered
tax incentives for foreign companies which invest in the natural gas
processing business. These companies will receive two years income tax
exemption followed by three years of 50% exemption. After the
exemption period ends, the income tax rate will be only 15%. As a
clean energy source with the potential to ameliorate the pollution
problem in China and with increasing government support, we expect
demand for CNG for use in vehicles will continue to increase. In Wuhan
City, we received government approval for the tax incentives, and we
plan to apply for these benefits in the other areas in which we will
operate.
Business Outlook
This summer, the unexpected heavy rain and flood in Central and Southeast China, as well as delays in obtaining municipal government approval to each station's construction, significantly deferred our CNG stations building progress, which effects the revenue contribution from the CNG filling stations segment. Given this change in actual situation, the company is revising its guidance for the full fiscal year 2007. Based on existing operations, we now expect revenues for 2007 to be between $25 to $28 million and operating income for 2007 to be between $7.5 and $8.5 million, with $8 million in revenues and $2.5 million in operating income in the third quarter.
Based on current plans to construct additional stations, Sinoenergy is providing a preliminary forecast for 2008 that net revenues are expected to increase approximately 70% compared to revenues for the full year of 2007 and 2009 will also keep that increase rate.
"As the 45% equity owner of Anhui Gather, we will take advantage of using up to another 200 million cubic meters of natural gas supply from Sinopec, depending on our annual allocation. This supply makes us confident that we can successfully execute our CNG filling station expansion strategy," remarked by Mr. Tianzhou Deng, Chairman of Sinoenergy. "The accelerating growth in CNG wholesale and retail as well as the vehicle conversion kit business will be the key drivers in the future development of our company. We will continue to capitalize on opportunities to further expand our CNG business and also become a major supplier in the growing CNG-powered vehicle market in China."
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on August 15, 2007 to discuss results for the second quarter of 2007. Joining Mr. Tianzhou Deng, Chairman, will be Mr. Bo Huang, CEO, and Ms. Laby Wu, CFO of Sinoenergy.
To participate in the live conference call, please dial the following number five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled conference call time: (888) 482-0024. International callers should dial (617) 801-9702. When prompted by the operator, mention conference pass code 101 793 21.
If you are unable to participate in the call at this time, a replay will be available on Wednesday, August 15 at 11:00 p.m. EDT, through Wednesday, August 22 at 11:00 p.m. EDT. To access the replay, dial (888) 286-8010. International callers should dial (617) 801-6888. The conference pass code is 35037374.
About Sinoenergy:
Sinoenergy is a manufacturer of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle and gas station equipment as well as a designer, developer and operator of CNG stations in China. In addition to its CNG related products, the Company also manufactures a wide variety of pressure containers for use in different industries, including the design and manufacture of various types of pressure containers in the petroleum and chemical industries, the metallurgy and electricity generation industries and the food and brewery industries.
Forward-Looking Statements
The information contained herein includes forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward- looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. The safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 protects companies from liability for their forward-looking statements if they comply with the requirements of the Act.
Sinoenergy Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands of United States dollars)
June 30, December
2007 31, 2006
ASSETS Unaudited Audited
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash 4,304 588
Accounts receivable (net)
-- Related party 516 594
-- Third party 4,577 3,777
Other receivables
-- Related party 912 1,220
-- Third party 2,681 1,176
Deposits and prepayments-Third party 1,466 3,187
Deferred expenses -- 4
Inventories 1,688 937
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 16,144 11,483
LONG TERM ASSETS
Long term investment 390
Property, plant and equipment (net) 6,156 3,556
Intangible assets 12,161 12,114
Other long-term asset 6,815
Goodwill 676 676
Long term deferred tax asset 4 4
TOTAL ASSETS 42,346 27,833
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Short term bank loan 4,134 3,160
Accounts payable
-- Related party 452
-- Third party 1,471 211
Other payables
-- Related party 345 4,073
-- Third party 1,419 2,359
Accrued expenses 163 176
Warranty accrual 60 40
Advances from customers 3,162 701
Income taxes payable 135 7
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 10,889 11,179
Minority interests 1,216 614
Commitments
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Common stock-$.001 Par Value;
Issued and Outstanding- 31,183,377
shares at June 30, 2007, 14,636,472
shares at December 31, 2006 31 15
Series A convertible preferred
stock-$0.001 Par
Value - 234,688 shares at June 30, 2007,
5,692,307 shares at December 31, 2006 6
Additional paid-in capital 21,633 9,935
Capital surplus 20 20
Statutory surplus reserve fund 1,140 1,140
Retained earnings 6,872 4,576
Accumulated other comprehensive income 545 348
Total stockholders' equity 30,241 16,040
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY 42,346 27,833
Sinoenergy Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
(In thousands of United States dollars except per-share information)
Three months Three months Six months Six months
ended June ended June ended June ended June
30, 2007 30, 2006 30, 2007 30, 2006
(restated) (restated)
NET REVENUE 6,181 3,383 8,807 5,883
COST OF REVENUE (2,972) (2,184) (4,563) (3,580)
GROSS PROFIT 3,209 1,199 4,244 2,303
Selling expenses 65 58 105 122
General and
administrative
expenses 928 557 1,510 883
TOTAL OPERATING
EXPENSES 993 615 1,615 1,005
INCOME(LOSS)
FROM OPERATIONS 2,216 584 2,629 1,298
OTHER INCOME(EXPENSES)
Other non-operating
income 4 7 5 9
Interest expense (123) (203) (178) (245)
Other expenses (4) -- (8) (3)
OTHER INCOME (LOSS) NET (123) (196) (181) (239)
INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE
INCOME TAXES 2,093 388 2,448 1,059
Income tax (44) (240) (44) (553)
INCOME BEFORE MINORITY
INTEREST 2,049 148 2,404 506
Minority interest (103) (11) (108) (33)
NET INCOME 1,946 137 2,296 473
Other comprehensive
income
Foreign currency
translation adjustments 177 192 197 192
COMPREHENSIVE INCOME 2,123 329 2,493 665
Earnings Per Share
– Basic 0.07 0.01 0.10 0.03
Weighted Average Shares
Outstanding -Basic 27,780,340 14,366,411 22,670,835 14,306,730
Earnings Per Share
- Diluted 0.07 0.01 0.10 0.03
Weighted Average Shares
Outstanding -Diluted 29,158,368 14,366,411 23,917,039 14,306,730
Sinoenergy Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
(In thousands of United States dollars)
Six Months Six Months
Ended Ended
June 30, 2007 June 30, 2006
(restated)
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income 2,296 473
Value of warrants issued 37 160
Expense of option grants 345
Minority interest 108 33
Depreciation 246 145
Amortization of intangible assets 139 93
Provision for doubtful accounts (11) 4
Changes in operating assets and
liabilities:
Decrease in accounts receivable (696) (3,359)
(Increase) in other receivables, (3,899) (1,924)
deposits and prepayments
(Increase)/decrease in inventories (751) 29
Increase in accounts payable 808 853
Increase/(decrease) in accrued expenses 6 20
Increase/(decrease) in advances from
customers 2,460 (408)
(Decrease)/increase in other payables (1,486) 1,134
Increase in income tax payable 129 591
Net cash (used in ) operating activities (269) (2,158)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITES
Payment for purchase of property, plant
and equipment (3,032) (65)
Payment for purchase of land use right (2,659) --
Purchase of minority interest in
subsidiaries (2,818)
Net cash used in investing activities (8,509) (65)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITES
Cash received from bank loan 971 --
Cash received from capital contribution 3,101
Cash received from warrants exercise 11,326 --
Net cash provided in financing activities 12,297 3,101
Effect of changes in exchange rate 197 --
Net increase in cash 3,716 878
Cash at beginning of the year 588 334
Cash at end of the year 4,304 1,212
Supplementary Cash flow disclosure:
Interest Paid 178 86
For more information, please contact:
Sinoenergy Corporation
Ms. Laby Wu, CFO
Tel: +86-10-8492-8149
Email: labywu@gmail.com
CCG Elite Investor Relations Inc.
Mr. Crocker Coulson, President
Tel: +1-646-213-1915 (New York)
Email: crocker.coulson@ccgir.com
