Ossen Innovation Announces First Quarter 2017 Financial Results

SHANGHAI, July 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ossen Innovation Co., Ltd. ("Ossen Innovation" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: OSN), a China-based manufacturer of an array of plain surface, rare earth and zinc coated pre-stressed steel materials, today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2017.

Dr. Liang Tang, Chairman of Ossen Innovation, commented, "The economic headwinds and sluggish industry demand continued to drag on our business, leading to a 15% decline in revenues in the first quarter. The decline in revenues also reflected a further scale-back of our plain surface PC strands and PC wires business in light of its gross margin deterioration in recent quarters. Gross and operating margins also decreased by 3.5 and 3.1 percentage points, respectively, highlighting continuing pricing pressure.  Looking ahead, we remain cautious on our near-term outlook."

For the three months ended March 31, 2017, revenues decreased by $4.5 million, or 15.0%, to $25.6 million from $30.1 million for the same period of last year. This decrease was primarily due to decreases in sales from both coated products and plain surface and other products. The sales of coated PC steel materials, including both rare earth and zinc coated products, were $22.1 million and accounted for 86% of total sales for the three months ended March 31, 2017. Sales of rare earth coated products, zinc coated products, and plain surface and other products were $22.0 million, $0.2 million, and $3.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017, respectively.

Gross profit decreased by $1.4 million, or 43.3%, to $1.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 from $3.1 million for the same period of last year. Gross margin decreased by 3.5 percentage points to 6.9% for the three months ended March 31, 2017 from 10.4% for the same period of last year. Gross margins for rare earth and zinc coated products were 4.1% and 55.0%, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to 7.6% and 33.6%, respectively, for the same period of last year. Gross margin for plain surface and other products was 22.5% for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to 20.3% for the same period of last year.

Selling expenses decreased by $0.1 million, or 34.5%, to $0.15 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 from $0.23 million for the same period of last year. The decrease was due to lower transportation cost. General and administrative expenses decreased by $0.2 million, or 18.2%, to $1.12 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 from $1.37 million for the same period of last year. As a result, total operating expenses decreased by $0.3 million, or 20.5%, to $1.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 from $1.6 million for the same period of last year.

Operating income decreased by $1.0 million, or 67.2%, to $0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 from $1.5 million for the same period of last year. The decrease in operation income was primarily attributable to decrease in gross profit and partially offset by decrease in general and administrative expenses in 2017. Operating margin was 2.0% for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to 5.1% for the same period of last year.

Net income decreased by $0.5 million, or 82.3%, to $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 from $0.6 million for the same period of last year.

After deducting net income attributable to non-controlling interest, net income attributable to Ossen Innovation decreased by $0.4 million, or 89.2%, to $0.05 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 from $0.46 million for the same period of last year. Earnings per share, both basic and diluted, were $0.003 for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to $0.023 for the same period of last year.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flows

As of March 31, 2017, the Company had cash and restricted cash of $6.8 million, compared to $6.9 million at December 31, 2016. Notes receivable were $7.3 million as of March 31, 2017, compared to $15.3 million at December 31, 2016. Accounts receivable were $48.5 million as of March 31, 2017, compared to $37.3 million at December 31, 2016. The average days of sales of outstanding (DSO) were 151 days for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to 126 days for the year of 2016. The increase in DSO was mainly because the Chinese New Year delayed the timing of collections.  The balance of prepayment to suppliers for raw materials totaled $55.5 million as of March 31, 2017, compared to $46.7 million at December 31, 2016. The Company had inventories of $16.4 million as of March 31, 2017, compared to $26.0 million at the end of 2016. During the quarter, the Company reduced the procurement of raw materials due to the rising steel price. Total working capital was $102.6 million as of March 31, 2017, compared to $101.6 million at December 31, 2016.

Net cash used in operating activities was $0.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to $0.8 million for the same period of last year. Net cash used in investing activities was $nil for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to $3,000 for the same period of last year. Net cash used in financing activities was $45,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to $91,000 for the same period of last year.

Recent Developments

On January 3, 2017, The Company announced that the Special Committee of the Board of Directors has retained Highline Research Advisors LLC ("HRA"), acting through Corinthian Partners, LLC, as its financial advisor in connection with the review and evaluation of the Proposed Transactions as announced on August 4, 2016.

About Ossen Innovation Co., Ltd.

Ossen Innovation Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells a wide variety of plain surface pre-stressed steel materials and rare earth coated and zinc coated pre-stressed steel materials. The Company's products are mainly used in the construction of bridges, as well as in highways and other infrastructure projects. Ossen has two manufacturing facilities located in Ma'anshan, Anhui Province, and Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province.

Safe Harbor Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated, including risks outlined in the Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 20-F, as amended. All information provided in this press release is as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

For more information, please contact:

Tony Tian, CFA
Weitian Group LLC
Phone: +1-732-910-9692
Email: tony.tian@weitian-ir.com  

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