China TransInfo Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Results

Fourth Quarter 2010 Highlights

• Revenue increased 36.3% year-over-year to $38.8 million
• Gross profit increased 37.4% year-over-year to $13.8 million
• Operating income increased 27.7% year-over-year to $6.6 million
• Net income increased 23.1% year-over-year to $5.8 million, or $0.23 per diluted share
• Adjusted net income, which excludes non-cash stock based compensation expense of $(0.1) million and amortization expense of intangibles from acquisitions of $0.05 million, increased 12.9% year-over-year to $5.8 million, or $0.23 per diluted share*

Full Year 2010 Highlights

• Revenue increased 92.7% year-over-year to $122.7 million
• Gross profit increased 67.3% year-over-year to $42.4 million
• Operating income increased 45.7% year-over-year to $20.0 million
• Net income increased 19.2% year-over-year to $15.5 million, or $0.63 per diluted share
• Adjusted net income, which excludes non-cash stock based compensation expense of $1.1 million and amortization expense of intangibles from acquisitions of $0.2 million, increased 23.9% year-over-year to $16.8 million, or $0.68 per diluted share*

"Our strong increase in sales in 2010 underscores the growing recognition of our brand name and technology in China as well as our successful integration of UNISITS," commented by Mr. Shudong Xia, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "During 2010, we have introduced several new products and solutions to the market and we were able to secure over 180 new contract wins from both new and existing clients.  We continue to successfully market and sell our products and services to the highway and urban intelligent transportation system markets within the public sector in China and our total backlog as of year-end 2010 reached $212 million, an increase of 202.9% from year-end 2009 and 92.7% from the end of the third quarter of 2009.  In addition to continuing to penetrate our existing markets, we believe that we can leverage on our extensive experience and capabilities in ITS markets to widen our scope of products and services to include commercial and consumer application services."  

(*) See the table following this press release for a reconciliation of net income and diluted EPS to exclude non-cash stock based compensation expense and amortization expense of intangibles from acquisitions.

Fourth Quarter 2010 Results

For the quarter ended December 31, 2010, revenue increased 36.3% to $38.8 million from $28.4 million in the comparable period of 2009. Approximately 107.1% of this increase is attributable to the increase in transportation revenue mainly resulting from the Company's organic growth in the transportation business. Revenue from products and applications in the transportation business sector was $37.1 million, or 95.8% of total revenue, compared to $26.1 million, or 91.7% of total revenue, in the same period last year. The remainder of revenue was derived from the digital city, land & resources, and other business sectors.  For the fourth quarter, the sales contribution of UNISITS was $25.2 million.

The Company's gross profit increased 37.4% to $13.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to $10.0 million in the same period of 2009. Gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2010 is in line with that of the fourth quarter of 2009, increased slightly to 35.5% from 35.2% in the same period of 2009.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $7.2 million compared to $4.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. The increase was primarily due to the Company's expanded operations and sales volume as well as the enhanced marketing activities. Operating income increased 27.7% to $6.6 million from $5.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Net income increased 23.1% to $5.8 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, compared to $4.8 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, in the same period of 2009. Adjusted net income, which excludes non-cash stock based compensation expense of $(0.1) million and amortization expense of intangibles from acquisitions of $0.05 million, increased 12.9% to $5.8 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, compared to $5.1million, or $0.23 per diluted share, in the comparable period of 2009.* Weighted average diluted shares outstanding increased to 25.3 million shares from 22.5 million shares in the fourth quarter of 2009.

(*) See the table following this press release for a reconciliation of net income and diluted EPS to exclude non-cash stock based compensation expense and amortization expense of intangibles from acquisitions.  

Full Year Results

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2010, revenue increased 92.7% to $122.7 million from $63.7 million in 2009.   The increase was attributable to the increase in transportation revenue mainly resulting from both the organic growth and the Company's expanded business as a result of the acquisition of UNISITS.  Revenue from products and applications in the transportation business sector was $114.1 million, or 93.0% of total revenue, compared to $54.7 million, or 85.9% of total revenue, last year.  The remainder of revenue was derived from the digital city, land & resources, and other business sectors.  For full year 2010, the sales contribution from UNISITS was $79.5 million.

The Company's gross profit increased 67.3% to $42.4 million in 2010 compared to $25.4 million in 2009. Gross margin decreased to 34.6% from 39.8% in 2009. The decrease in gross margin was mainly attributable to the Company expanding into additional ITS markets through UNISITS, which resulted in a relatively lower gross margin on average when compared to the Company's gross margin in 2009.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $22.5 million compared to $11.7 million in 2009. The increase was primarily due to the Company's expanded operations and sales volume, enhanced marketing activities, an increase in employees, and enhanced research and development efforts. Operating income increased 45.7% to $20.0 million from $13.7 million in 2009.

Net income increased 19.2% to $15.5 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, compared to $13.0 million, or $0.58 per diluted share, in 2009. Adjusted net income, which excludes non-cash stock based compensation expense of $1.2 million and amortization expense of intangibles from acquisitions of $0.2 million, increased 23.9% to $16.8 million, or $0.68 per diluted share, compared to $13.6 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, in 2009.*  Weighted average diluted shares outstanding increased to 24.7 million shares from 22.5 million shares in 2009.

(*) See the table following this press release for a reconciliation of net income and diluted EPS to exclude non-cash stock based compensation expense and amortization expense of intangibles from acquisitions.  

Financial Condition

As of December 31, 2010, cash and cash equivalents totaled $43.9 million compared to $27.4 million as of December 31, 2009. Working capital increased to $73.8 million compared to $44.4 million as of December 31, 2009.  Stockholders' equity was $111.2 million compared to $77.8 million as of December 31, 2009.  Cash provided by operating activities in 2010 was $3.9 million compared to $8.8 million in 2009, primarily due to an increase in accounts receivables associated with the Company's increase in sales, an increase in prepaid expenses associated with the Company's expanded businesses which required additional materials procurement for projects, offset by an increase in net profit, accounts payable, and net billings.

Recent Events

• On January 10, 2011, the Company signed an agreement with the Planning Institute under the PRC Ministry of Transportation to provide technical development and services for a pilot project to build and operate a traffic data collection, analysis, and service system for national trunk roads. The contract is valued at approximately RMB 12 million (approximately $1.8 million) and will be classified within the Company's government solutions business.
• On December 28, 2010, Beijing Zhangcheng Science and Technology Co., Ltd., one of the Group Company's subsidiaries, has signed a contract with the Beijing Transportation Information Center to develop a commercial operation center to provide dynamic traffic-information services to drivers in Beijing. The contract is valued at RMB 6.2 million (approximately $0.9 million) and will be classified within the Company's traffic information service business.
• On December 23, 2010, the Company announced that Mr. Shudong Xia, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, has adopted a Rule 10b5-1 plan under which he plans to purchase up to $2.0 million worth of the Company's shares of common stock.
• On December 21, 2010, the Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved the appointment of Mr. Roger (Rong) Zhang as the Company's Chief Financial Officer, effective January 1, 2011.
• On December 16, 2010, the Company announced that its subsidiary Shanghai Yootu Information Technology Co., Ltd. has recently placed a successful bid with China Mobile Group Liaoning Company Limited for providing real-time traffic information service to Liaoning Mobile in five cities: Shenzhen, Chongqing, Chengdu, Dalian and Wuhan.

Business Outlook

China TransInfo's sales backlog increased 92.7% to $ 212 million as of December 31, 2010, from $110 million as of September 30, 2010. The Company expects sustainable gross margins in the ITS business. Over time, the Company expects to see a gradual improvement in its gross margin performance driven by extension of its product lines into the recurring revenue service markets. For fiscal 2011, China TransInfo expects revenue of between $151 million and $159 million and non-GAAP net income of between $20 million and $24 million. Non-GAAP net income excludes non-cash stock based compensation expense and amortization expense of intangibles from acquisitions.

Mr. Xia concluded, "Based on our successful track record and reputation, we believe there are significant opportunities to grow revenue from our existing clients by winning follow-on contracts for subsequent phases of project implementation, and by capitalizing on our first mover advantage and the higher cost for customers to switch to other vendors.  We expect to provide additional value-added services and add-ins to our current platform through continuous research and development, enhancement of our product and service offerings and maintenance of our technological leadership position in our core areas of focus.  Our goal is to become the largest provider of intelligent transportation system products and related comprehensive technology solutions in China, as well as a major operator and provider of value-added intelligent transportation systems and location-based services to commercial clients and consumers in China."

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call on Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2010. To participate in the live conference call, please dial the following number five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled conference call time: (866) 759-2078. International callers should dial +1 (706) 643-0585. When prompted by the operator, enter conference pass code 54287649. A replay will be available for 14 days starting on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time and can be accessed by dialing (800) 642-1687. International callers should dial +1 (706) 645-9291. When prompted, enter conference pass code 54287649.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

GAAP results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 include non-cash share based compensation and amortization of intangible assets from acquisitions. To supplement the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, the Company has provided non-GAAP financial information, which are adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share, excluding the impact of these items in this release. The Company's management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide investors with a better understanding of how the results relate to the Company's historical performance. The additional adjusted information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP financials. The adjusted financial information that the Company provides also may differ from the adjusted information provided by other companies. Management believes that these adjusted financial measures are useful to investors because they exclude non-cash expenses that management excludes when it internally evaluates the performance of the Company's business and makes operating decisions, including internal budgeting, and performance measurement, as these measures provide a consistent method of comparison to historical periods. As a result, the provision of these adjusted measures allows investors to evaluate the Company's performance using the same methodology and information as that used by the Company's management. Moreover, management believes that these adjusted measures reflect the essential operating activities of the Company.  Non-GAAP measures are subject to inherent limitations because they do not include all of the expenses included under GAAP and because they involve the exercise of judgment of which charges are excluded from the adjusted financial measure.  However, the Company's management compensates for these limitations by providing the relevant disclosure of the items excluded. A reconciliation of adjustments to GAAP results appears in Table 1 in this release.

About China TransInfo

China TransInfo, through its affiliate, the Group Company and the Group Company's PRC operating subsidiaries, is primarily focused on providing urban and highway transportation management solutions and information services. The Company is a leading transportation information products and comprehensive solutions provider, and aims to be the largest real time transportation information service provider and major fleet management service provider in China. As the co-formulator of several transportation technology national standards, the Company owns five patents and has won a majority of the model cases awarded by the PRC Ministry of Transportation. As a result, the Company is playing a key role in setting the standards for transportation information solutions in China. For more information, please visit the Company's website at http://www.chinatransinfo.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements". These forward looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website (http://www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

–FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW—

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