HONG KONG, May 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Highlights for the three months ended March 31, 2017:
Cogobuy Group ("Cogobuy" or the "Company", stock code: 400.HK; with its subsidiaries (the ''Group'')), the largest e-commerce platform serving the electronics manufacturing industry in China, is pleased to announce its unaudited operational summary for the three months ended March 31, 2017 (the "Period").
The Company saw healthy growth across its three major business lines during the Period. Total GMV of the Company's operations grew to RMB6,133.0 million, a YoY increase of 57.8%; with 52.5% from direct sales, 27.2% from online marketplace platforms, and 20.3% from IngFin Financing Services. As at March 31, 2017, the amount of outstanding loan balance for IngFin Financing Services was RMB1,864.1 million. In total, 49.7% of GMV came from blue chip customers, while 50.3% came from small and medium enterprise ("SME") customers.
INGDAN.com, the largest Internet of Things (''IoT'') innovation business platform for intelligent hardware in China, built an ecosystem for smart hardware developers that enables the Group to continuously attract new customers, contributing to the strong results during the Period. As at March 31, 2017, INGDAN.com registered more than 24,100 IoT project entries and tens of millions of followers. Notably, INGDAN.com has been successful in the monetization of its platform. GMV contributed by INGDAN.com was RMB1,112.1 million, 18.1% of the total GMV in the first quarter of 2017.
During the Period, increasing numbers of new customers, mainly from SMEs, and the expansion of new business areas, such as smart homes and smart cars, contributed to Cogobuy's strong results. As at March 31, 2017, the number of online transaction customers1 reached 23,056, an increase of 98.9% from 11,590 as at March 31, 2016. As at March 31, 2017, the number of registered customers reached approximately 111,000, compared to approximately 59,000 as at March 31, 2016.
Cogobuy also recorded a total revenue of RMB3,267.5 million during the Period, a YoY increase of 34.7%. Net profit attributable to equity shareholders of the Company grew significantly, to approximately RMB120.4 million, a YoY increase of 41.5%. Gross margin was 8.2%. Non-GAAP profit attributable to equity shareholders2 of the Company was approximately RMB133.9 million, representing an increase of 33.6% YoY. Non-GAAP operating expenses3 were RMB93.5 million. Non-GAAP operating margin4 was 5.4%. The effective tax rate of the Group was 14.1% and its non-GAAP effective tax rate5 was 13.3%.
During the Period, the Group generated positive non-GAAP operating cash flow6 of approximately RMB22.6 million. Cash and cash equivalents and pledged deposits amounted to RMB3,122.4 million as at March 31, 2017. Inventory turnover days7 and trade receivables turnover days8 were 43.7 days and 48.0 days, respectively.
Business Highlights
Outlook
Mr. Jeffrey Kang, CEO of Cogobuy Group, said, "We are pleased to be maintaining strong growth into 2017, demonstrated by our first quarter results. Online transaction customers doubled YoY, where the growth of SME customers was the most apparent. Average purchasing volume from blue chip customers9 also increased continuously, which was up by approximately 55.4% YoY. Furthermore, we enhanced our business and product scope by moving to include optical communications, data storage solutions, smart home products, and smart car products, among others. Our performance in optical communications, for example, was outstanding, aided by the new investment cycle for carriers with growing demand for optical communications, Optical Transport Network ("OTN") upgrades, and 4.5G/5G construction. The Company also recorded over 100% growth in its storage solutions business. Cogobuy's stable customer growth and successful business development strategies were, and continue to be key drivers of our strong growth.
In view of the unprecedented innovation in traditional industries driven by AI technology, INGDAN.com has been building an extensive supply chain ecosystem to help with clients' business transformations as well as to attract large numbers of traditional electronic enterprise customers. Looking ahead, we will focus on capturing opportunities in facilitating traditional enterprises' transformations in "AI+". This is especially true for IoT, which is a booming industry: the market for voice-controlled technology in home appliances has been expanding rapidly. Cogobuy is prepared to seize opportunities for growth in these new markets, and to develop INGDAN.com as a ten billion-sized "AI+" platform.
We have also established a new business unit called IngFin Financing Services. With our supply chain financing products as the core, we will increase investments in the big-data based enterprise financing business. Following the success of INGDAN.com, we expect IngFin Financing Services to become another rapidly growing platform that will help accelerate our overall growth, beginning in the second quarter this year.
With strong growth in our online transaction customers, and broadening sources of income through our new business unit - IngFin Financing Services and new ecosystem for AI technology in electronics and hardware, we are confident in the Group's growth momentum in the coming year, and the strength of Cogobuy's businesses in the future. We will also consider to repurchase Cogobuy's issued and outstanding shares at the right time to create better return for our shareholders. "
| 1 Customers who had completed at least one online transaction during the current period and had completed at least one other online transaction in the previous fiscal year. |
| 2 Net profit attributable to equity shareholders add share-based compensation costs, amortization of intangible assets and its related deferred taxation effect. |
| 3 Total operating expenses less share-based compensation costs and amortization of intangible assets. |
| 4 Non-GAAP operating margin is non-GAAP profit of the period divided by revenue for the period. Non-GAAP profit is gross profit less non-GAAP operating expenses of the period. |
| 5 Non-GAAP effective tax rate is income tax expense less deferred taxation related to amortization of intangible assets divided by income before tax less share-based compensation costs and amortization of intangible assets. |
| 6 Non-GAAP operating cash flow is operating cash flow of the period plus amount of loan to third parties for investment initiatives for the period. |
| 7 The average of the opening and closing balances of inventories of the period divided by cost of sales of the period and multiplied by 90 days. |
| 8 The average of the opening and closing balances of trade receivables for the period divided by revenue of the period and multiplied by 90 days. |
| 9 The average purchasing volume from blue chip customers is GMV derived from blue chip customers divided by the number of blue chip customers. |
Caution Statement
The information contained in this document has not been independently verified. No representation, warranty or undertaking, express or implied, is made by the Company or any of its affiliates, advisers or representatives as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of such information or opinions presented or contained herein. The information contained in this document should be considered in the context of the circumstances prevailing at the time, is subject to change without notice and the Company makes no undertaking to update the information in this document to reflect any developments that occur after the date of the presentation. It is not the Company's intention to provide, and you may not rely on these materials as providing, a complete or comprehensive analysis of the Company, or its financial or trading position or prospects. Neither of the Company nor any of its affiliates, advisers or representatives accept any responsibility or have any liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this document or its contents or otherwise arising in connection with this document.
This document may contain statements that reflect the Company's current intent, beliefs and expectations about the future as of the respective dates indicated herein. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on a number of assumptions about the Company's operations and factors beyond the Company's control and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements. Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates, advisers or representatives has any obligation, nor do they undertake, to update these forward-looking statements for any events or developments including the occurrence of unanticipated events that occur subsequent to such dates.
About Cogobuy Group
Cogobuy Group is the largest e-commerce service platform serving the electronics manufacturing industry in China. Through the e-commerce platform, which includes a direct sales platform, an online marketplace, and a dedicated team of technical consultants and professional sales representatives, the Company provides customers with comprehensive online and offline services across pre-sale, sale, and post-sale stages. The Company serves mainly SME electronics manufacturers.
For further information, please refer to the Company's website at http://www.cogobuy.com/
About INGDAN.com
INGDAN.com is a platform dedicated to connecting global intelligent hardware entrepreneurs and China-based supply chain resources. The platform provides information on hardware innovation, supply chain data, and supply chain demand docking for global IoT innovators and entrepreneurs. It is a one-stop hardware innovation business platform with its core being the "supply chain."
For further information, please refer to the Company's website at http://www.ingdan.com/
For investor and media enquiries
Please contact Ms. Wanyee Ho / Ms. Amy Guo at ir@cogobuy.com.