- Teleconference to Be Held Tuesday, March 24, 2009, at 8:30 a.m. EDT -
XI'AN, China, March 24 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- China Recycling Energy Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: CREG) ("CREG" or "the Company"), a leading industrial waste-to-energy solution provider in China, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2008.
Highlights for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008
-- Fourth quarter 2008 revenue grew 189.7% quarter-over-quarter to $12.3
million
-- Fourth quarter 2008 non-GAAP net income, as defined below, rose 189.9%
quarter-over-quarter to $2.4 million
-- Full year 2008 revenue increased 106.5% year-over-year to $19.2 million
-- Full year 2008 non-GAAP net income, as defined below, increased 105%
year-over-year to $3.9 million
-- The Company has now completed three sales-type leases and two
operational leases to receive rental and interest incomes through
electricity generation from industrial waste heat and gas
"I am pleased to see our timely completion of the low-temperature
waste-heat power generation system for Shengwei Construction Materials Group Co., Ltd. in Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province," Mr. Guohua Ku, CEO of CREG, said. "This is the first project for Shengwei that added product sales revenue for us in the fourth quarter, as we had expected. It also brought the total number of our completed projects to five, including three sales-type leases and two operational leases. These projects are spread out in China's steel, cement and chemical industries, and will generate stable, recurring rental and interest incomes for us for the next five to 13 years."
Summary of Financial Results
(In '000s of U.S. FOR THE YEAR FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED
Dollars, except ENDED DEC. 31, DEC. 31, SEPT. 30,
for per share data) 2008 2007 2008 2008
Revenue $ 19,218 $ 9,302 $ 12,341 $ 4,260
Gross profit 5,216 2,269 3,150 1,282
Income before Tax
(IBT) 3,466 2,316 3,143 1,160
Add:
Amortization of discount
related to conversion
feature of convertible
note 1,212 315 -- --
Compensation expenses
for stock options 856 172 127 96
Non-GAAP IBT (1) 5,534 2,803 3,270 1,256
Net income 1,833 1,878 2,306 733
Non-GAAP net income
(1) 3,902 2,365 2,434 828
Diluted EPS 0.03 0.10 0.04 0.02
Non-GAAP diluted EPS
(1) (2) 0.10 0.10 0.06 0.02
(1) CREG provides income before tax, net income and earnings per share on
a non-GAAP basis that excludes non-cash, share-based compensation
expense and non-cash interest expense on the amortization of the
beneficial conversion feature for the convertible notes, as described
below, to enable investors to better assess the Company's operating
performance. The non-GAAP measures are described below and reconciled
to the corresponding GAAP measure in the section below titled "About
Non-GAAP Financial Measures;
(2) Non-GAAP diluted weighted average shares outstanding were calculated
based on outstanding shares, issued options, and estimated shares
under the assumption that they would be converted from our convertible
debentures based on CREG's estimated 2009 earnings.
Fourth Quarter of 2008
For the fourth quarter of 2008, the Company generated revenue of $12.3 million, compared with $226,348 in the fourth quarter of 2007. Sequentially, revenue grew 189.7% from $4.3 million in the third quarter of 2008. The increase was primarily because of the contribution from product sales.
Product sales contributed $8.0 million, or 65.2% of the total revenue, compared with $226,348 in the fourth quarter of 2007 and zero in the third quarter of 2008; rental income from operational leases at industrial plants in China was $4.3 million, or 34.8% of the total revenue, compared with zero in the fourth quarter of 2007 and $4.3 million in the third quarter of 2008.
Gross profit was $3.1 million, compared with $174,485 in the fourth quarter of 2007 and $1.3 million in the third quarter of 2008. Gross margin was 25.5%, compared with 77.1% in the fourth quarter of 2007 and 30.1% in the third quarter of 2008. The lower gross margin was primarily because of higher costs of the sophisticated waste-to-electricity machinery the Company procures to install and test for its customers.
Interest income from sales-type leases was $569,038, compared with $542, 637 in the fourth quarter of 2007 and $576,817 in the third quarter of 2008.
General and administrative expenses were $630,974, compared with $183,708 in the fourth quarter of 2007 and $638,949 in the third quarter of 2008. The increase over the same period of 2007 was primarily because of the fair value of the stock options to employees, and increased payroll, marketing and traveling expense due to the expansion of our business, as well as general costs of maintaining the status of a public company.
Non-GAAP income before tax, as defined in the "Summary of Financial Results" section, was $3.3 million, or 154% higher than $1.3 million in the third quarter of 2008. GAAP income before tax was $3.1 million, or 158% higher than $1.2 million in the third quarter of 2008.
The Company's effective tax rate was 26.6%, compared with negative 65.7% in the fourth quarter of 2007 and 36.9% in the third quarter of 2008.
Non-GAAP net income was $2.4 million, compared with $828,328 in the third quarter of 2008. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.06, compared with $0.02 in the third quarter of 2008. GAAP net income was $2.3 million, compared with GAAP loss of $170,252 in the fourth quarter of 2007 and GAAP net income of $732,512 in the third quarter of 2008. GAAP diluted EPS was $0.04, compared with GAAP diluted loss per share of $0.02 in the fourth quarter of 2007 and GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.02 in the third quarter of 2008.
Full Year 2008
For the year 2008, revenue increased 106.5% to $19.2 million, from $9.3 million in 2007. Product sales contributed $8 million, or 41.9% of the total revenue, compared with $9.3 million in 2007, which consisted total revenue. Rental income contributed $11.2 million, or 58.1% of the total revenue, compared with zero in 2007.
Gross profit rose 126.1% to $5.2 million, from $2.3 million in 2007. Gross margin was 27.1%, compared with 24.4% 2007.
Interest income from sales-type leasing was $2.3 million, compared with $1 million in 2007.
General and administrative expenses were $2.8 million, compared with $542,434 in 2007. The increase was primarily because of the non-cash compensation expense of approximately $856,000 related to the fair value of the stock options to employees, increased costs associated with one-time,
non-recurring issuance and restructuring of the convertible notes in 2008, and increased payroll, marketing and traveling expense due to the expansion of our business, as well as general costs of maintaining the status of a public company.
Non-GAAP income before tax, as defined in the "Summary of Financial Results" section, was $5.5 million. GAAP income before tax was $3.5 million, compared with $2.7 million in 2007.
The effective tax rate was 47.1%, compared with 20.2% in 2007. The increase was primarily because of higher tax rates applied to the Company's main operating subsidiary in Xi'an as China revalued preferential tax status for high-tech enterprises last year. Given the Chinese government’s commitment to renewable energy, the Company is expecting to regain the preferential tax rate, 15%, in the near future.
Non-GAAP net income was $3.9 million, or non-GAAP diluted EPS $0.10. GAAP net income was $1.8 million, or GAAP diluted EPS of $0.03, compared with GAAP net income of $1.9 million, or GAAP diluted EPS of $0.10 in 2007. The lower GAAP net income reflected higher non-cash charges related to convertible notes and stock-based employee compensation, as well as higher tax rate levied in the city of Xi'an. As of December 31, 2008, the Company has total diluted shares outstanding of 59,861,719.
As of December 31, 2008, cash and cash equivalents were $7.3 million, compared with $1.6 million at December 31, 2007. Total investments in
sales-type leases were $16.8 million, compared to $9.0 million at December 31, 2007. Net working capital increased to $11.3 million from $7 million at December 31, 2007. The ratio of current debt to current assets is 1.9:1 as of December 31 2008. Total shareholders' equity was $32.4 million, at December 31, 2008 compared with $17.3 million at December 31, 2007.
Other Highlights
On December 10, 2008, the Company received the immediately effective resignation of Mr. Guangyu Wu as Chief Executive Officer, member of the Board of Directors and Corporate Secretary. Also on December 10, 2008, the Board of Directors appointed Mr. Xinyu Peng, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, as Secretary and Guohua Ku, 47, as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Ku graduated from Northwestern University in China with a Master's of Business Administration. He had served as the senior technology and marketing officer for several large Chinese state-owned companies at which he gained tremendous experience and developed exceptional expertise on the development and operation of energy-recycling programs.
Year 2009 Guidance
The Company expects revenues for 2009 to be in the range of $33 million to $36 million, with net income, excluding non-cash charges, of approximately $8 million. These targets are based on the Company's current views on the operating and market conditions, which are subject to change.
Mr. Ku said, "Looking forward, we are encouraged that the Chinese government has earmarked $31 billion, or 5% of the country's $584-billion stimulus package, for the creation of a sustainable environment. We believe the bulk of the spending will be to reduce the pollution generated by
heavy-industrial plants in Northern and Western China, stimulating the growth of the use of low-emission and energy-efficient power generators by our customers in the steel, cement and chemical sectors. Considering this robust market condition, we expect to complete at least 3 projects this year, including Shengwei's phase two which should be completed in the second quarter of 2009, with a projected product sales of approximately $8 million and additional interest income of approximately $1 million in 2009."
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call on Tuesday, March 24, 2009, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time / 8:30 p.m. Beijing Time. Interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing +1-877-407-8035 (North America) or +1-201-689-8035 (International) 10 minutes before the call start time.
A replay of the call will be available through Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Interested parties may access the replay by dialing +1-877-660-6853 (North America) or + 1-201-612-7415 (International) and entering account number: 286 and conference ID number: 315790.
About Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release contains non-GAAP financial measures for earnings that exclude the effect of non-cash, non-operating expenses related to the Convertible Notes issued in November 2007 and April 2008, respectively, as well as the compensation expenses for the fair value of stock options. The Company uses non-GAAP financial measures when it internally evaluates the performance of its business and makes operating decisions, including internal budgeting and performance measurement. The Company believes that providing the non-GAAP measures is useful to investors for a number of reasons. The
non-GAAP measures provide a consistent basis for investors to understand CREG's financial performance in comparison to historical periods, and it allows investors to evaluate CREG's performance using the same methodology and information as that used by the Company's management. However, investors need to be aware that non-GAAP measures are subject to inherent limitations because they do not include all of the expenses included under GAAP, and they involve the exercise of judgment of which charges are excluded from the non-GAAP financial measure.
About China Recycling Energy Corp.
China Recycling Energy Corp. (OTCBB: CREG.OB) ("CREG" or "the Company") is based in Xi'an, China and provides environmentally friendly waste-to-energy technologies to recycle industrial byproducts for steel mills, cement factories and coke plants in China. Byproducts include heat, steam, pressure, and exhaust to generate large amounts of lower-cost electricity and reduce the need for outside electrical sources. The Chinese government has adopted policies to encourage the use of recycling technologies to optimize resource allocation and reduce pollution. Currently, recycled energy represents only an estimated 1% of total energy consumption and this renewable energy resource is viewed as a growth market due to intensified environmental concerns and rising energy costs as the Chinese economy continues to expand. The management and engineering teams have over 20 years of experience in industrial energy recovery in China.
For more information about CREG, please visit http://www.creg-cn.com .
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of China Recycling Energy Corp. and its subsidiary companies. 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. Investors 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 and annual reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website at 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 TO FOLLOW
CHINA RECYCLING ENERGY CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AS OF AS OF
31-Dec-08 31-Dec-07
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash & cash equivalents $ 7,267,344 $ 1,634,340
Investment in sales type leases, net 1,970,591 1,081,981
Interest receivable on sales type lease 82,406 144,262
Prepaid expenses 3,849,087 --
Other receivables 102,850 32,902
Inventory 10,534,633 9,870,315
Total current assets 23,806,911 12,763,800
NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Investment in sales type leases, net 14,837,879 7,933,780
Advance for equipment 2,642,889 2,467,579
Property and equipment, net 95,359 --
Construction in progress 3,731,016 --
Intangible assets, net 3,482 6,169
Total non-current assets 21,310,625 10,407,528
TOTAL ASSETS 45,117,536 23,171,328
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable 1,186,902 2,298,201
Unearned revenues 658,415 --
Tax payable 2,137,356 534,522
Accrued liabilities and other payables 3,528,527 2,565,726
Advance from management -- 71,508
Convertible notes, net of discount due
to beneficial conversion feature 5,000,000 315,068
Total current liabilities 12,511,200 5,785,025
ACCRUED INTEREST ON CONVERTIBLE NOTES 168,494 63,014
CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS
MINORITY INTEREST 16,179 15,080
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Common stock, $0.001 par value;
100,000,000 shares authorized,
36,425,094 and 25,015,089 shares
issued and outstanding as of
December 31, 2008 and 2007,
respectively 36,425 25,015
Additional paid-in capital 30,475,360 19,070,908
Statutory reserve 1,319,286 832,467
Accumulated other comprehensive income 3,582,587 1,718,260
Accumulated deficit (2,991,995) (4,338,441)
Total stockholders' equity 32,421,663 17,308,209
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS'
EQUITY 45,117,536 23,171,328
CHINA RECYCLING ENERGY CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED 12/31 FOR THE QUARTER ENDED
2008 2007 12/31/2008 9/30/2008
Revenue
Sales of products $ 8,048,956 $ 9,302,347 $ 8,048,956 $ --
Rental income 11,168,707 - 4,292,484 4,259,807
Total revenue 19,217,663 9,302,347 12,341,440 4,259,807
Cost of sales
Cost of products 6,191,505 7,033,400 6,191,505 --
Rental expense 7,810,231 -- 3,000,220 2,977,402
Total cost of sales 14,001,736 7,033,400 9,191,725 2,977,402
Gross profit 5,215,927 2,268,947 3,149,715 1,282,405
Interest income on
sales-type leases 2,285,582 1,015,712 569,038 576,817
Total operating income 7,501,509 3,284,659 3,718,753 1,859,222
Operating expenses
General and
administrative
expenses 2,773,702 542,434 630,974 638,949
Total operating
expenses 2,773,702 542,434 630,974 638,949
Income from operations 4,727,807 2,742,225 3,087,779 1,220,273
Non-operating income
(expenses)
Investment income -- -- 9 17
Interest income 27,033 -- 27,033
Interest expense on
convertible note (1,314,689) (377,402) (80,725) (57,029)
Finance expense -- -- (201) (990)
Other income 108,999 -- 108,999 --
Other expense (811) (48,562) (1) (248)
Exchange loss (82,237) -- (268) (1,524)
Total non-operating
expenses (1,261,705) (425,964) 54,846 (59,774)
Income before income
tax 3,466,102 2,316,261 3,142,625 1,160,499
Income tax expense 1,632,754 466,647 836,296 427,960
Net income from
continuing operations 1,833,348 1,849,614 2,306,329 732,539
Income from
discontinued
operations -- 28,699 -- --
Less: minority
interest 83 -- -- 27
Net income 1,833,265 1,878,313 2,306,329 732,512
Other comprehensive
item
Foreign currency
translation gain 1,864,327 680,586 (53,909) 807,806
Comprehensive income 3,697,592 2,558,899 2,252,420 1,540,318
Basic weighted average
shares outstanding 32,095,814 18,160,385 36,425,094 36,425,094
Diluted weighted
average shares
outstanding 59,861,719 18,855,897 36,997,300 36,997,300
Basic net earnings per
share 0.06 0.10 0.07 0.02
Diluted net earnings
per share 0.03 0.10 0.04 0.02
* Interest expense on convertible notes are added back to net income for
the computation of diluted EPS.
* Diluted weighted average shares outstanding includes estimated shares
will be converted from the Second Note issued on Apr 29, 2008 with
conversion price contingent upon future net profits.
CHINA RECYCLING ENERGY CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED 12/31
2008 2007
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income $1,833,265 $1,878,313
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net
cash
Used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 18,079 --
Amortization of discount related to
conversion feature of convertible note 1,212,329 315,068
Stock option compensation expense 856,207 171,510
Accrued interest on convertible notes 105,480 63,014
Minority interest 83 14,463
(Increase) decrease in current assets:
Interest receivable on sales type lease 61,856 (144,262)
Prepaid equipment rent (3,796,985) --
Other receivables (66,659) 212,288
Advances to suppliers -- (1,590,891)
Increase (decrease) in current liabilities:
Accounts payable (1,245,854) 2,204,167
Unearned revenue 647,948 --
Advance from customers -- (179,787)
Tax payable 1,530,420 523,190
Accrued liabilities and other payables 802,165 1,530,382
Net cash used in operating activities 1,958,334 4,997,455
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Investment in sales type leases (7,063,105) (8,640,969)
Acquisition of property & equipment (115,350) --
Construction in progress (3,717,743) --
Net cash used in investing activities (10,896,198) (8,640,969)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Issuance of common stock 9,032,258 --
Convertible notes 5,000,000 5,000,000
Repayment to management (75,108) --
Advance from shareholder -- 68,583
Net cash provided by financing activities 13,957,150 5,068,583
EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE CHANGE ON CASH &
CASH EQUIVALENTS 613,718 (42,729)
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH & CASH
EQUIVALENTS 5,633,004 1,382,340
CASH & CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF YEAR 1,634,340 252,000
CASH & CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF YEAR 7,267,344 1,634,340
Supplemental Cash flow data:
Income tax paid 152,881 --
Interest paid -- --
For more information, please contact:
In China:
Mr. Leo Wu
Investor Relations
China Recycling Energy Corp.
Email: tch@creg-cn.com
In the U.S.:
Mr. Valentine Ding
Investor Relations
Grayling
Tel: +1-646-284-9412
Email: vding@hfgcg.com
