SHANGHAI, China, Nov. 15 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Xinhua Finance Limited ("XFL"; TSE Mothers: 9399; OTC: XHFNY), China’s premier financial information and media service provider, today announced the consolidated business results for the nine months ended September 30, 2007. Under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), total revenue grew 44% to US$180.7 million from US$125.1 million in the same period of 2006. EBITDA was US$26.1 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 32% from US$19.7 million. Net income rose to US$85.9 million from US$15.8 million. Fully diluted earnings per share (EPS) was US$84.97 compared to US$18.11 in 2006.
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Under IFRS, proforma EBITDA, adjusted to exclude non-cash ESOP expenses and one-time items, was US$38.3 million, representing an increase of 57% over US$24.3 million for the same period last year. XFL provides proforma results to help investors better understand the Company’s underlying operating and financial trends.
"We continue to see rising demand for China-focused financial information as the Chinese financial markets mature and become more sophisticated. Moreover, our expanded distribution platform enables us to capture the strong growth in China’s advertising market," said XFL CEO Fredy Bush. "We will continue to focus our efforts and resources in China’s markets and on building our market-driven information services to leverage the opportunities ahead." added Ms. Bush.
Due to the global attention on China, XFL’s China indices are being followed by more funds worldwide, with total assets under management benchmarking or tracking our China indices rising to US$108 billion at the end of September from approximately US$27 billion a year ago. In the last quarter, the Company has taken a number of initiatives in response to the rising market demand and China’s dynamic development. The financial news service increased coverage on fixed income and foreign exchange markets related to China and other emerging countries, while our corporate announcement distribution services, Xinhua PR Newswire, extended its services in China to 24 hours a day to better serve clients in multiple time zones. Furthermore, a new magazine focused on China’s insurance market was launched, creating a new channel for relevant financial content and generating additional advertising revenue.
The Company recently appointed Dr. Chen Chung Hsing as head of China Ratings to lead the business’s next phase of development as the bond market undergoes regulatory changes in preparation for the expansion of the China bond market. Dr. Chen is a veteran of the credit ratings industry and successfully founded Taiwan’s first rating agency Taiwan Ratings Corporation in 1997, now 51% controlled by Standard and Poor’s. He has more than 18 years of experience in financial services, including as a regulator at Taiwan’s Securities and Exchange Commission. With respect to our Solution’s business, XFL has partnered with Fermat to deliver software solutions to help Chinese banks on Basel II compliance efforts before the 2010 implementation deadline.
CFO David Wang said, "We continue to reap benefits from our integration efforts as our business increases in scale. The synergies generated through effective integration between various business units have presented more cross-selling and business opportunities for the group. At the same time, we intend to further invest in our business in China in order to leverage and maintain our market leading position. "
YTD Q3 2007 vs. YTD Q3 2006 -- unit: million USD
YTD Q3 2007 YTD Q3 2006 Variance
Revenue 180.7 125.1 44%
Proforma EBITDA (1) 38.3 24.3 57%
EBITDA (2) 26.1 19.7 32%
Net Income 85.9 15.8 444%
(1) Proforma EBITDA under IFRS is EBITDA plus non-cash ESOP expenses and
excluding one time items.
(2) Under IFRS, EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2007
includes non-cash one time charge of US$5.7m from the revaluation of
a convertible loan, one time legal expenses of US$0.6m and non-cash
ESOP expenses of US$5.9m.
(Notes)
A. We define EBITDA in relation to our IFRS financial statements as
profit or loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.
About Xinhua Finance Limited
Xinhua Finance Limited ("XFL") is China’s premier financial information and media service provider and is listed on the Mothers Board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (symbol: 9399) (OTC ADRs: XHFNY). Bridging China’s financial markets and the world, Xinhua Finance’s proprietary content platform, comprising Indices, Ratings, Financial News, and Investor Relations, serves financial institutions, corporations and re-distributors worldwide. Through its subsidiary Xinhua Finance Media Limited (Nasdaq: XFML), XFL leverages its content across multiple distribution channels in China including television, radio, newspaper, magazine and outdoor media. Founded in November 1999, XFL is headquartered in Shanghai, with offices and news bureaus spanning 11 countries worldwide.
For more information, please visit http://www.xinhuafinance.com .
This is a press release to the public and should not be relied on as information to make an investment decision by any investor. Investors should read the Company’s Securities Report filed to the Tokyo Stock Exchange and consider the risk factors together with other information contained therein when making an investment decision. This press release contains some forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results, performance, achievements of the Company or industries in which it operates to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
More Information:
Media Contact
Xinhua Finance
Ms. Joy Tsang
Tel: +852-9486-4364, +86-21-6113-5999
Email: joy.tsang@xinhuafinance.com
IR Contact
Xinhua Finance
Shanghai
Ms. Jennifer Chan Lyman
Tel: +86-21-6113-5960
Email: jennifer.lyman@xinhuafinance.com
Taylor Rafferty
Japan
Mr. James Hawrylak
Tel: +81-3-3221-9513
Email: james.hawrylak@taylor-rafferty.com
United States
Mr. John Dudzinsky
Tel: +1-212-889-4350
Email: john.dudzinsky@taylor-rafferty.com
